PORTLAND, Oregon – The Pepperdine women's basketball team played an intense game against Portland State, but fell short 75-71 on Friday night in Viking Pavilion.
The Waves (3-5) had a better shooting percentage at 52% compared to the Vikings' (4-4) 51%. Pepperdine had the lead after the first 10 minutes of play, but unfortunately couldn't complete the comeback for the win.
BIG WAVES
- Senior guard Malia Bambrick (Santa Clarita, Calif./Bishop Alemany HS) had 12 points, three assists, brought down three rebounds and had three steals.
- Redshirt junior guard Jayla Ruffus-Milner (North Hills, Calif./Harvard-Westlake HS) had 12 points, shot 5-for-7 and grabbed five rebounds.
- Senior guard Cheyenne Givens (Gardena, Calif./Serra HS/Los Angeles Trade-Tech) had 10 points, shot 5-for-6 and had five assists.
- Freshman forward Meaali'i Amosa (Garden Grove, Calif./Mater Dei HS) had a season high of 10 points, shot 5-for-9 and collected four rebounds.
GAME RECAP
Portland State scored the first three points of the game, but thanks to
Becky Obinma (Menifee, Calif./Rosary Academy/Texas Christian) and
Jane Nwaba (Carson, Calif./Palisades Charter HS) on back to back layups, Pepperdine took the lead 4-3. The Vikings scored one from long range, but the Waves came back and went on a 12-point scoring run, 16-3. Portland State were able to close the gap to five and Pepperdine rounded out the first quarter leading 18-13.
In the second quarter, a jumper by
Helena Friend (Huntington Beach, Calif./Blair Academy) increased the margin to seven, 20-13. Portland State had a nine-point scoring run to take back the lead 25-22. It was a lot of back-and-forth from there on, with the Vikings staying on top heading into the half 35-31.
The Vikings started the third quarter with a six-point scoring run to increase their margin, 41-31. Pepperdine had a four point scoring run, thanks to layups by Bambrick and
Jayla Ruffus-Milner. Another five-point scoring run from Portland State extended the lead to an 11-point lead, 48-37. With less than a minute left in the third quarter, the Waves went on a seven-point scoring run to cut the deficit within five to head into the final frame at 54-49.
Pepperdine went on a four point scoring run to get back within three, 56-53. A back-and-forth two minutes lead to a Waves' eight-point scoring run to take the lead back 63-62. Portland State went on a seven-point scoring run to get back ahead, 69-63. Back-to-back jumpers by Amosa put the Waves within one shot, but the Vikings scored the final four points to secure the win.
STATS
- Pepperdine had 22 points off of 16 forced turnovers by Portland State.
- The Waves outrebounded the Vikings 30-28.
- Pepperdine had 11 steals compared to Portland State's 10.
- The Waves had 50 points in the paint.
- There were eight lead changes in the game and it was tied twice.
NOTABLE
- Bambrick is now tied for fifth on the Pepperdine all-time three-point made list with 145.
UP NEXT
The Waves will be back inside Firestone Fieldhouse for the last non-conference game against Boise State on Saturday, December 18. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. and will be live on the WCC Network.