LOS ANGELES – In its first game back after two weeks away from the court due to COVID-19 protocol, the Pepperdine women's basketball team fell to PCH-Cup and West Coast Conference rival Loyola Marymount 53-50.

The Waves (3-4, 0-3 WCC) started off the game with the lead, but the Lions (4-7, 3-3 WCC) made a nine-point comeback in the second quarter to take control of the game.

BIG WAVES

• Junior guard Cydney Rivera (Cypress, Texas/Collin College) led the Waves with 14 points. She was 2-for-5 from three.
• Junior guard Malia Bambrick (Santa Clarita, Calif./Bishop Alemany HS) had 11 points.
• Redshirt sophomore Jayla Ruffus-Milner (North Hills, Calif./Harvard-Westlake HS) led the team with eight rebounds.

GAME RECAP
The Waves got off to the hot start in the first quarter, starting on a 6-0 run. Rivera scored the first four pints of the game, and eight points overall in the quarter as the Waves never trailed and led 21-13 after the first 10 minutes. Pepperdine's shot went cold in the second quarter, scoring just six points. The Waves led 27-25 at the half.

Pepperdine started the second half better than the team ended the first, scoring seven of the first nine points to retake the lead. The Lions made yet another comeback, going on their own small run to get within one point of the Waves, at 37-36, going into the final ten minutes of play. The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair with the lead changing four times. Ultimately, the Waves could not complete the comeback.

KEY STATS

• Pepperdine shot just 27.7% from the field. The Lions shot 35.6% from the field.
• Both teams shot poorly from three. The Waves were just 4-for-18.
• The Waves outrebounded the Lions 48-44, including 22 offensive rebounds.

UP NEXT
The Waves hit the road next weekend, taking on Saint Mary's and Pacific on Thursday and Saturday before staying up North and playing San Francisco in a makeup of a postponed game from earlier in the year.