ANCHORAGE, Alaska.  – Jane Nwaba and Marly Walls of the Pepperdine women's basketball team collected their first double-doubles, but the Waves dropped an overtime contest against La Salle 83-81 in the first game of the Great Alaska Shootout at the Alaska Airlines Center on Friday night.
 
The Waves (0-3) outscored the Explorers (4-1) in the first two quarters and both teams scored an equal 19 points in the third quarter, but a 26-point fourth quarter for La Salle forced overtime, and the Explorers hit the game-winning basket with 0.5 seconds left.
 
BIG WAVES

• Sophomore Ally Stedman (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle HS) led the way with 22 points. She also had three steals and one block.
• Junior Jane Nwaba (Carson, Calif./Palisades Charter HS) had a double-double with a career-high 15 points by shooting 5-for-10 along with 10 rebounds. She also had a career-high four assists.
• Graduate student Theresa Grace Mbanefo (Otsego, Minn./Blaine HS/Cornell) collected 13 points by shooting 5-for-7.
• Graduate student Marly Walls (Bardstown, Ky./Nelson County HS/Bucknell) also had a double-double with a career-high 10 assists and 12 points. She also had seven boards.

 
GAME RECAP
 
La Salle scored the first basket of the game, but a 10-point scoring run for the Waves made it 10-2. After buckets from each side, the Explorers put up six straight points to take the lead at 15-14. Right at the buzzer, Stedman cleanly hit one from long range to give the Waves a 17-15 lead.
 
The scoring continued for the Waves in the second quarter with six consecutive points of their own to extend the lead at 23-15. La Salle collected a bucket and two free throws closing the gap within six at 23-19. With one minute left to play before heading into the half, the Explorers hit a three-pointer to get within three at 32-29, but Meaali'i Amosa (Garden Grove, Calif./Mater Dei HS) made a layup to go into the break at 34-29.
 
After exchanging baskets to start the third quarter, Walls scored five consecutive points for the Waves to increase the double-digit lead at 47-35. A seven-point scoring run for the Explorers cut the deficit to seven at 49-42. Another six points for La Salle closed the gap at two, but a last-minute layup by Becky Obinma (Menifee, Calif./Rosary Academy/TCU) extended the Pepperdine lead to 53-48 to head into the final quarter.
 
The Waves opened up the fourth with a basket by Stedman and a three-point play by Mbanefo to make it 58-48. The Explorers had their first double-digit scoring run of 12 points to take the lead for the first time since the opening quarter at 67-64. Back and forth at the free throw line for both squads got the Waves within three points with under 90 seconds to go, and Stedman dropped one from long range to tie it at 71-71. La Salle answered back with another three to take the lead at 74-71, but Stedman again hit one from long range to tie the game and head into overtime.
 
La Salle earned two free throws off the tip of the overtime period to go up 76-74. Obinma tied the game at 76-76, but another two free throws and a jump shot gave the Explorers the lead back at 80-76. A five-point scoring run for the Waves earned their first lead of the overtime period at 81-80. La Salle made a free throw to tie the game at 81-81, and after the Waves missed a couple of shots, Charity Shears of La Salle got an offensive rebound and drained a jumper with 0.5 seconds left to give the Explorers the win.
 
STATS

• The Waves out rebounded the Explorers 48-28.
• Pepperdine outshot La Salle 46.9% to 39.7%.
• La Salle forced 21 turnovers compared to Pepperdine's 15.
• There were six lead changes and the Waves and Explorers were tied six times.

UP NEXT
 
The Waves will play in the consolation game of the Great Alaska Shootout on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 6:15 p.m. PT/5:15 p.m. ASKT. Pepperdine will match up against either UC Riverside or host Alaska Anchorage. The game will be streamed live on Alaska Anchorage's YouTube channel.