Pepperdine University
Santa Clara
Women's Basketball Falls to Santa Clara, 69-48
2/16/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine women's basketball team couldn't keep pace with Santa Clara in a West Coast Conference matchup on Thursday night, falling 69-48 in Firestone Fieldhouse.
The Broncos pulled away in the second half as Pepperdine couldn't overcome a cold shooting night at home. The Waves fall to 7-19 overall, 5-10 WCC, while Santa Clara moves to 13-13, 8-7 WCC.
In an up and down first quarter, the Waves fell behind early, but got threes from Kim Jacobs and Sydney Bordonaro, along with a layup from Yasmine Robinson-Bacote to pull within three nearing the two-minute mark. Santa Clara responded with a 10-0 run, however, taking a 25-12 lead into the second period.
Kayla Blair would lead the Waves on a charge late in the second, hitting a three and then following that up with a steal and fastbreak layup to make it a 31-25 game with two minutes to go. Blair had all 11 of her first-half points in the second quarter. The Broncos would push it to a 35-27 lead going into the break. The Waves outscored Santa Clara 15-10 in the second period.
Santa Clara was able to stretch its lead with a 10-2 run to end the third quarter, going up by a score of 55-37 heading to the final period. Pepperdine went just 4-for-13 from the floor in the third. The Broncos would only extend their lead in the fourth as the Waves never got on track offensively.
Blair would finish with a career-high 17 points for the Waves, going 4-for-6 from three-point territory. The Broncos had three players in double-figures, led by Marie Bertholdt with 20 points.
Pepperdine shot just 32.7% in the game, but also held Santa Clara to 37.7% shooting. The Broncos forced the Waves into 23 turnovers in the game, scoring 25 points off the Pepperdine giveaways.
The Waves are back in action on Saturday when they face Loyola Marymount for their final home game of the year. Pepperdine will honor senior Allie Green in a pregame ceremony at the game. All the action will be broadcast live on TheW.tv.
