MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine women's basketball team closed out non-conference play with a 65-51 victory over UC Riverside on Sunday afternoon in Firestone Fieldhouse.
The Waves (5-5) took an early 13-8 lead over the Highlanders (2-6) in the first quarter and never let up, outscoring the opposition in three of the four quarters.
Ally Stedman drained a season-high 24 points shooting 10-for-15 and also had a career-high in blocks with four, while
Rosemary Odebunmi had a career-high performance with seven points, nine rebounds and two assists.
BIG WAVES
- Sophomore guard Ally Stedman (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle HS) led the Waves with 24 points by shooting 10-for-15. She had three assists, four steals and a career-high three blocked shots.
- Graduate transfer forward Theresa Grace Mbanefo (Otsego, Minn./Blaine HS/Cornell) collected eight points and brought down three rebounds.
- Redshirt sophomore forward Rosemary Odebunmi (Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria/Sierra Canyon HS) tallied a career-high seven points, by shooting 3-for-3. Odebunmi also had a career high in rebounds (nine) and assists (two).
- Sophomore forward Jane Nwaba (Carson, Calif./Palisades Charter HS) notched seven points, two steals and four rebounds.
GAME RECAP
The Waves came out and drained the first basket of the game, but the Highlanders answered back with one of their own. Pepperdine collected a layup and a bucket from long range to extend the lead to 7-2. UC Riverside made four straight free throws to close the gap at one, 9-8, but the Waves hit back-to-back layups to end the quarter with a 13-8 lead.
To start the second quarter, Pepperdine had six straight points to increase the advantage at 19-8. The Highlanders had a seven-point scoring run and were within four at 21-17, but the Waves scored 15 consecutive points to head into the half with a double-digit lead, 36-17.
Following the break, Pepperdine and UC Riverside exchanged baskets before the Highlanders went on to score five straight to get the score to 38-24. UC Riverside had another six-point scoring run to try and close the gap, but Stedman nabbed back-to-back buckets to give the Waves a larger double-digit lead at 46-30. The Highlanders tallied two free throws to end the third quarter, 46-32.
In the final frame, the Waves collected two free throws and a layup to make it 50-32. Pepperdine and UC Riverside went back-and-forth through the rest of the quarter, before the Highlanders notched seven straight points in the final two minutes of play. The Waves held onto the ball with 0.3 seconds left to earn the win.
STATS
- Pepperdine outshot UC Riverside 47.3% to 24.6%
- The Highlanders forced 23 Waves' turnovers compared to 16.
- Pepperdine out-rebounded UC Riverside 40-34.
- The Waves had 34 paint points compared to the opposition's 16.
UP NEXT
The Waves will open up West Coast Conference play on the road visiting Santa Clara on Saturday, Dec. 17. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the WCC Network.
