LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Despite a late rally from the opposition, the 3^rd-seeded Pepperdine women's basketball team defeated 6^th-seeded Pacific 87-84 at the Orleans Arena on Saturday afternoon to advance to the West Coast Conference Championship semifinal for the first time since the 2010 campaign.
 
Also for the first time since 2010, Pepperdine has reached the 20-win mark this season, having gone 20-10 overall.   
 
Yasmine Robinson-Bacote and Barbara Sitanggan led the Waves' offensive efforts with 26 and 20 points respectively, while each player also amassed six boards. 
 
BIG WAVES

• Yasmine Robinson-Bacote (Hillside, N.J./Hillside HS) had a team-leading 26 points after hitting eight field goals and one three, and going 9-10 from the charity stripe.  She added six boards.
• Barbara Sitanggan (Fullerton, Calif./Troy HS) scored 20 points, along with six rebounds and assists in the effort.
• Malia Bambrick (Santa Clarita, Calif./Bishop Alemany HS) also posted nine points, with five rebounds and three assists.
• Deezha Battle (Albuquerque, N.M./Volcano Vista HS/Cochise College (Ariz.) was also good for double-digit points with 14, going 4-5 from long range.
• Mia Satie (Perth, Australia/Iona Presentation College) added six rebounds and six points.

KEY STATS

• The Waves outshot the Tigers from the field 50.9% to 41.4% and from the arc 53.8% to 41.7%, but the opposition went 21-23 (91.3%) from the charity stripe, compared to Pepperdine's 22-27 (81.5%). 
• Pepperdine pulled down 39 boards to Pacific's 32 during the game.  The Waves also marked four blocks and three steals, while the Tigers were good for five steals with no blocks.

GAME RECAP
After a close start to the game en route to an 8-8 tied score, a big three from Barbara Sitanggan helped push the Waves into the lead.  Pepperdine continued to bring the rain in the first quarter, seeing a strong shooting output with 9-13 made for a 69.2% from the field and a perfect 3-3 mark from the arc towards a 10 pint lead 26-16.  Sitanggan closed the quarter with a pair of freebies to result in a 28-20 Waves' lead heading into the second quarter.
 
The Waves continued to roll in the second, jumping out of the starting gates with back-to-back Yasmine Robinson-Bacote buckets to open out of the break.  Robinson-Bacote continued to go off in the half, collecting 15 points en route to the break and pulling down four boards.  Pepperdine was good for 58.6% from the field and an impressive 71.4% from out of town to help the cause, resulting in a 49-38 halftime advantage.
 
Pacific started to close the gap after halftime, however, coming within four points to Pepperdine 54-50.  Deezhe Battle then sank a long-range snipe to give the Waves the edge and Robinson-Bacote and Sitanggan followed up with a pair of points themselves to extend the Waves lead to 62-43.  By the end of the quarter, Pacific had continued to find the bottom of the net, finishing with a layup to come within three 69-66 heading into the final quarter.
 
Pepperdine struck first in the quarter, but the opposition was resilient and eventually tied things up at 75's.  With 2:33 left on the clock in the game, the score was tied 81-81, but the Tigers put up a jumper to take their first lead since the first quarter. 
 
Robinson-Bacote pulled up short with some finesse in the paint to tie the score yet again, Megan House followed up with a block and Malia Bambrick secured the board for the Pepperdine-stop.  A foul on the Waves put a Tiger at the line, but the player made only one to keep a Waves' lead.  Battle made it a three-point game with another short jumper and with 25 seconds left on the clock, the Waves stopped the defense from scoring again, resulting in the 87-84 Waves win. 
 

HELLO VEGAS#WavesWIN#wcchoops pic.twitter.com/pjs9kWmSo8
— Pepperdine W. Hoops (@WavesHoops) March 10, 2019