SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Pepperdine women's basketball team nearly had a comeback in the second half, but fell 71-63 to UC Santa Barbara on Thursday night in the Thunderdome.
The Gauchos (2-0) took an early lead over the Waves (0-2). Though Pepperdine outrebounded UCSB 39-31 throughout and came out of the break with new momentum, the squad was unable to complete the comeback after the half.
BIG WAVES
- Graduate student Marly Walls (Bardstown, Ky./Nelson County HS/Bucknell) collected 16 points, had three assists and three steals.
- Junior Jane Nwaba (Carson, Calif./Palisades Charter HS) put up 12 points, brought down five rebounds and had three assists.
- Sophomore Ally Stedman (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle HS) notched 12 points and had five boards.
- Redshirt senior Becky Obinma (Menifee, Calif./Rosary Academy/TCU) led the Waves in rebounds with eight.
GAME RECAP
The Waves and Gauchos exchanged the first two baskets to start the first quarter, but the opposition scored eight straight points to take a 10-2 lead. UCSB and Pepperdine each had two more baskets apiece, but the Gauchos extended the lead 15-7 to end the quarter.
In the second quarter, UCSB scored back-to-back three's to make it 21-7. The Waves had six consecutive points thanks to a long range bucket by Stedman and a layup plus a free throw for Obinma, going on a 10-5 run to start closing the gap, 26-17. Despite the energy from the Waves, the Gauchos settled in and went on a 12-point scoring run to head into the half at 38-17.
UCSB collected the first basket of the third quarter, but a three-pointer from Nwaba and a fastbreak layup from
Theresa Grace Mbanefo (Otsego, Minn./Blaine HS/Cornell) put the score at 40-22. After back and forth buckets, the Waves went on a 14-point scoring run and collected the last basket at the buzzer to cut the deficit to seven, ending the quarter 51-44.
In the final frame, the Gauchos scored back-to-back jumpshots, but the Waves answered with jumpers of their own, cutting the margin to five, 55-50. Five consecutive points for UCSB shortly after increased the lead back to double-digits, and though Stedman sank a three-point basket to get the Waves within five again at 68-63, three free throws for the opposition rounded out the game with a 71-63 Gauchos' win.
STATS
- The Gauchos forced 19 turnovers compared to the Waves' 15.
- Pepperdine had one block to UCSB's zero.
UP NEXT
Pepperdine will head to Alaska to play in the Great Alaska Shootout hosted by Alaska-Anchorage on Nov. 18-19. The Waves will match up first with LaSalle on Friday, Nov. 18 with tip-off set for 6:15 p.m. PT. The championship and consolation games will be played on Saturday, Nov. 19 and the Waves will play either UC Riverside or Alaska-Anchorage. The tournament will be live streamed on Alaska-Anchorage's Youtube Channel.
