LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Pepperdine women's basketball hung on to a lead down to the wire to defeat New Mexico State 72-69 on Wednesday night. Paige Fecske led all scorers with 22 points.
 
The Waves (2-2) led by as much as 14 at one point, but the Aggies (1-4) fought back and had a chance to tie the game as time expired.
 
BIG WAVES

• Senior guard Paige Fecske (Studio City, Calif./Chaminade HS) had a stellar night, scoring 22 points shooting 7-17 and 2-7 from the three point line. She also made all six free throws she attempted.
• Sophomore guard Malia Bambrick (Santa Clarita, Calif./Bishop Alemany HS) scored 18 points on the night, shooting 6-8 from the field and 4-4 from beyond the arc.
• Senior guard Hannah Friend (San Clemente, Calif./Sacramento State) had her best game as a Wave, scoring 13 points and making two three-pointers.

GAME RECAP
The Waves jumped out to an early lead, going up 9-4 after three pointers from Friend, Bambrick and Fecske. Friend scored eight of her 13 points in the first quarter, and the Waves led 22-17 after the first ten minutes. In the second, Pepperdine picked up right where it left off, with Bambrick getting her second three-pointer of the night to give the Waves a 25-20 lead. A 6-0 run for the Waves in the middle of the quarter pushed the lead to 31-23. At the half, the Waves led 36-28.
 
At the start of the second half, the Waves bolstered their lead up to 11 thanks to another three pointer from Bambrick. Then, halfway through, a three from Fecske gave the Waves a 14-point lead, their largest of the night. The Aggies made a bit of a run toward the end of the quarter, and Pepperdine led by six going into the final ten minutes. The fourth quarter started well for the Aggies, as a three-pointer and a layup got them to within one point. Pepperdine never let the Aggies tie the game or take the lead, as a 5-0 run got the lead back to six. With 30 seconds left, the Waves led by nine, but a foul and a couple of turnovers got the Aggies to within three. After a steal, New Mexico State had an open look from three to tie the game, but the shot went off the rim, allowing Friend to rebound the ball and hold it until time ran out to give the Waves their second victory of the year.
 
KEY STATS

• The Waves were out-rebounded by the Aggies, 28-34.
• The biggest difference in the game was three-point shooting; the Waves shot an even 50% from beyond the arc while the Aggies shot just 30.8%.
• Pepperdine got the majority of its points from three starters, as Fecske, Bambrick and Friend combined for 53 points.

UP NEXT
The Waves are back in action on Saturday, as they play host to Concordia Irvine at 3 p.m.