Final Stats

Box Score

MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine women's basketball team trailed by as much as 12 points in the second half, but stormed back at home to pull off the 62-58 upset or third-place Saint Mary's in a West Coast Conference matchup on Thursday night.

Pepperdine used an 11-1 run in the third quarter and then carried that momentum into the fourth quarter to hand the Gaels just their second loss in the team's last 10 games. Erica Ogwumike led the Waves to the big win, scoring 30 points on the night, 13 of which came in the fourth quarter.

The Waves move to 6-19 overall, 2-12 WCC with the victory, while Saint Mary's falls to 18-6, 9-4 WCC.

"This was a big win for us," said Head Coach Ryan Weisenberg. "We just stayed disciplined in the end and that was the key. The girls were running what we asked late, we started rebounding a little better and we were just the louder, more aggressive team on the court in the final minutes."

Pepperdine held the Gaels to just 24.2 percent shooting in the second half and outscored Saint Mary's by 11 points in the final two quarters.

After trailing by seven at the break, Pepperdine fell behind by as much as 12 early in the second half, but used an 11-1 run to make it a 38-36 game midway through the third quarter. The Waves would tie it up before the fourth and then Ogwumike (Cypress, Texas/Cypress Woods HS) scored two quick buckets to start the final period, giving Pepperdine a 48-44 advantage.

In a game that saw 10 ties and six lead changes, Saint Mary's took the advantage back with 4:07 to play on a jumper by Stella Beck. The basket was part of a 9-0 run that gave the visitors a 56-50 lead with 1:56 left. Ogwumike would knock down one of her three triples to stop the run and then dished it to Devin Stanback (West Hills, Calif./Chaminade HS) on a fast break for an easy layup to make it a one-point game with just over a minute to play.

It would again be Ogwumike on the fast break, this time taking it to the basket herself to give the Waves a 57-56 lead with 47 seconds left. Saint Mary's would turn it over once and miss a pair of free throw shots in the last minute, while the Waves made five foul shots, including two from Paige Fecske (Studio City, Calif./Chaminade HS) and then two from Ogwumike to seal it with five seconds left.

The Waves finished the game on a 12-2 run and scored 18 points in the fourth quarter.

Ogwumike's 30 points led all scorers and gave the freshman her second 30-point game this season and second in as many weeks after she set a career high with 34 against Portland last Thursday. Both she and Fecske played all 40 minutes for the Waves, with Fecske chipping in five points and five assists. Stanback had nine points for the Waves and Allie Green (Sacramento, Calif./Sacramento HS) had eight. Ogwumike also led the team with eight rebounds and four steals.

Beck scored 17 points to lead the Gaels and Sydney Raggio had 12. Saint Mary's turned the ball over 22 times, leading to 22 points for the Waves, while Pepperdine gave it away just 16 times.

"Our freshmen stepped up," said Weisenberg. "Paige did a great job and Erica's voice was really being heard out there. They took it upon themselves to push us to victory tonight. It was great to see the rest of the team get behind them and make it happen as an entire squad. We played together very well after a somewhat undisciplined first half."

The Waves jumped out to a 17-13 lead through one quarter of play, but Saint Mary's would use a 7-0 run late in the second to take a 28-21 lead. The teams traded baskets into the break, with the visitors holding a 32-25 edge at the half.

Ogwumike paced the team early with 10 first-half points and Beck had 10 points for the Gaels. Saint Mary's shot 70 percent in the first half, getting 24 points in the paint. The Waves held a slight rebounding edge and grabbed eight offensive boards to just two for the Gaels.

After Saint Mary's owned a 24-10 points in the paint advantage in the first half, the Waves came back to outscore the Gaels 18-8 in the paint in the second half, with many of those baskets coming off fast breaks.

The Waves will be back in action on Saturday as they host Pacific for their annual pink game to support the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Tip-off for that contest will be at 1 p.m. in Firestone Fieldhouse.