LAS VEGAS, Nevada – The Pepperdine women's basketball team fell in its season opener 81-58 to UNLV on Monday night in the Cox Pavilion.
 
The Lady Rebels (1-0) outshot the Waves (0-1) at 48.4% to 40.0%. UNLV outrebounded Pepperdine 37-29, which gave UNLV the momentum.
 
BIG WAVES

• Sophomore Ally Stedman (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle HS) banked 18 points and brought down three rebounds.
• Graduate student Marly Walls (Bardstown, Ky./Nelson County HS/Bucknell) collected 13 points by shooting 4-for-7 and was 5-for-6 from the line.
• Junior Jane Nwaba (Carson, Calif./Palisades Charter HS) had 10 points by shooting 5-for-7 and had five boards.
• Graduate student Theresa Grace Mbanefo (Ostego, Minn./Blaine HS/Cornell) led the Waves with eight rebounds and had the only block of the contest.

GAME RECAP
 
The Waves scored the first basket of the game and were neck-and-neck with the Lady Rebels for half of the first quarter, though UNLV had the lead at 11-9. UNLV scored two free throws and a layup to increase its lead at 18-10. Back-and-forth baskets had the Waves within six at 20-14, but another four points for the Lady Rebels extended the lead to make it 24-14. Nwaba closed out the first quarter with a layup and made it 24-16.
 
A 12-point scoring run for the Lady Rebels in the second quarter increased the margin and made it 36-19. The Waves scored six consecutive points to get the score at 40-27. UNLV put up one more layup before heading into the half at 42-27.
 
The Lady Rebels scored the first basket of the third quarter on a free throw, but Stedman hit a jumper right after to make it 43-29. Pepperdine hit three straight free throws before UNLV countered with a three-point play on a layup and a free throw to go up 50-32. Stedman banked in one from long range with less than 30 seconds to go, but UNLV hit the last shot to make it 61-44 before heading into the final frame.
 
The Waves earned and banked four free throws at the start of the fourth quarter thanks to Walls and Nwaba to get the score at 61-48. Pepperdine and UNLV exchanged shots including another two free throws by Walls and a three-point basket by Meaali'i Amosa (Garden Grove, Calif./Mater Dei HS) which made it 74-58. UNLV had eight consecutive points before forcing a turnover to notch the win.
 
STATS

• UNLV forced 18 turnovers compared to Pepperdine's 14.
• The Waves and Lady Rebels were even at 76.5% at the free throw line.
• Pepperdine had one block compared to UNLV's zero. 

UP NEXT
 
The Waves will travel north of Malibu to visit UC Santa Barbara on Thursday, Nov. 10. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.