MALIBU, Calif. – After two cancellations, the Pepperdine women's basketball team finally got to open its season, defeating NAIA powerhouse Westmont 68-56 in Firestone Fieldhouse on Saturday night. Junior guard Malia Bambrick led the way for the Waves, scoring a game-high 20 points.

The Waves (1-0) outscored the Warriors (0-1) in all but the final quarter, but had built their lead too much for Westmont to make a comeback.

BIG WAVES

• Junior guard Malia Bambrick (Valencia, Calif./Bishop Alemany HS) led the game with 20 points. She shot 8-11 from the field including 4-5 from beyond the three-point line.
• Junior guard Cheyenne Givens. (Gardena, Calif./LA Trade Tech) had 13 points, shooting 3-6 from the field and 2-3 from three. She also led the Waves with three steals.
• Freshman Jane Nwaba (Carson, Calif./Palisades Charter HS) had eight points, shooting 4-7 from the field. She led the Waves with eight rebounds.

GAME RECAP
The Waves started out hot, getting the first five points of the season on a jumper from Monique Andriuolo (Melbourne, Australia/Maribyrnong Secondary College) and a three-pointer from Bambrick. The Warriors tied it at seven, but the pulled ahead 11-7 and didn't trail the rest of the game. Bambrick had eight points in the quarter as the Waves led 21-12.

In the second quarter, the two teams played relatively evenly, but the Waves did go on a small run toward the end of the half, scoring 11 points in a row. The run included five points from Bambrick, including a three pointer to give the Waves a 37-27 lead at the half.

After the Warriors got to within six points, the Wave turned it on in the final three minutes of the third quarter, scoring the final nine points. Tara Dusharm (Foley, Minn./St. Louis) scored six in the quarter, all from the penalty stripe.

The Warriors tried to make a comeback in the final quarter, outscoring the Waves 16-15, but Pepperdine had built too much of a lead, not allowing Westmont to get within than nine points of the lead.

HIGHLIGHTS


STATS

• The Waves shot significantly better than the Warriors (47.1%-33,9%).
• Three-point shots also went the way of the Waves, as Pepperdine shot 50% from beyond the stripe, compared to the 27.8 that Westmont shot.
• Pepperdine also controlled the boards, bringing down 10 more boards than the Warriors (41-31).

QUOTABLE
Kristen Dowling, Head Coach


Malia Bambrick, Junior Guard (20 points, 4-5 3FG)

 
UP NEXT
The Waves return to Firestone Fieldhouse on Tuesday, hosting Cal State Bakersfield at 4 p.m.