LAS VEGAS, Nevada – The Pepperdine women's basketball team's run at the West Coast Conference Championships came to an end in Monday afternoon's semifinals and a 59-44 loss to second-seeded San Diego.
The sixth-seeded Waves (16-15) were solid defensively but shot just less than 30 percent from the field against the Toreros (20-10).
Pepperdine was playing in the WCC semifinals for the second year in a row, for 16th time in program history, and for the first time under first-year coach
Kristen Dowling. The Waves defeated Saint Mary's in the first round and upset BYU in the quarterfinals to reach today's game. San Diego received multiple byes into today's game.
BIG WAVES
- Senior guard Hannah Friend (San Clemente, Calif./Sacramento State) had a team-high 15 points along with six rebounds and two blocks.
- Redshirt freshman guard Jayla Ruffus-Milner (North Hills, Calif./Harvard-Westlake HS) scored nine points on 4-for-6 shooting.
- Junior forward Monique Andriuolo (Melbourne, Australia) had eight points, a team-high nine rebounds and two steals.
- Senior guard Barbara Sitanggan (Fullerton, Calif./Troy HS) had four points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.
KEY STATS
- USD shot 37.0% to Pepperdine's 29.8%.
- The Toreros made three of seven three-pointers while the Waves were 2-for-17.
- San Diego went 16-for-20 from the free throw line, Pepperdine went 8-for-11.
- Turnovers were close to equal as the Waves committed 15 and forced 14.
- San Diego got 19 points apiece from Myah Pace and Leticia Soares.
PLAY BY PLAY
Friend scored five early points, Andriuolo followed with a pair of baskets, and a lay-up by Ruffus-Milner put Pepperdine ahead 11-6 after 5 1/2 minutes. But the Toreros ended the first quarter on an 11-0 run to go up 17-11, and got the first basket of the second quarter to make it 19-11.
Sophomore guard
Malia Bambrick (Santa Clarita, Calif./Bishop Alemany HS) hit a couple of jumpers to cut the deficit to four at 21-17, and a Friend three-pointer made it a three-point game at 25-22. San Diego went into the intermission with a 29-24 lead.
The Waves scored the first five points of the third quarter and kept San Diego scoreless for nearly six minutes. A Ruffus-Milner lay-up tied the game at 29. But, the Waves only managed one free throw over the final 5+ minutes of the quarter, and San Diego scored 11 points over the final 4+ minutes, including a three-pointer at the buzzer, to go up by 10 at 40-30 after three.
The Waves would get no closer than eight points in the fourth quarter.
