SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The Pepperdine women's basketball team fell 73-63 to San Francisco in a West Coast Conference road contest on Monday afternoon.
The Waves (6-6), 1-1 WCC) fell behind early to the Dons (10-3, 1-1 WCC) and were unable to make a comeback. Pepperdine and San Francisco each outscored the other in two of the four quarters.
BIG WAVES
- Sophomore guard Ally Stedman (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle HS) led Pepperdine with 23 points to go with three assists, three rebounds, a block and a steal.
- Graduate transfer forward Theresa Grace Mbanefo (Otsego, Minn./Blaine HS/Cornell) drained 14 points and brought down five rebounds. Mbanefo had a season-high four assists.
- Sophomore guard Helena Friend (Huntington Beach, Calif./Blair Academy) notched 10 points to go with four rebounds, two steals and a block.
- Redshirt senior forward Becky Obinma (Menifee, Calif./Rosary Academy/TCU) was the leading rebounder with a season-high 11. Obinma had nine points and two assists.
GAME RECAP
In the first quarter, the Waves collected the first point on a made free throw by Obinma. The Dons answered with 10 straight points to take the lead. Pepperdine went on a six-point scoring run to get back within three, 10-7. San Francisco made a layup, but Stedman answered with four straight points to get the deficit to one at 12-11. Another nine consecutive points for the Dons increased the advantage. Friend earned the last point of the quarter on a made free throw.
At the start of the second quarter, Friend sank a layup to make it 21-14. Back and forth baskets filled the rest of the quarter, before the Dons scored nine straight to take their largest lead at 41-22. Friend drew a foul and went to the line and notched the final point heading into the break at 41-23.
After the half, the Waves picked up the tempo in the start of the third quarter on an eight-point scoring run to make it 41-31. The Dons tacked on five straight points to increase the lead at 46-31. Pepperdine rounded out the third quarter on another eight consecutive points to close the gap to 55-44 heading into the final ten minutes of the game.
Stedman drained one from long range at the start of the final frame, though the Dons answered with back-to-back layups, 59-47. Through the rest of the quarter, Pepperdine and San Francisco exchanged baskets. With under a minute to go, the Dons earned four points on free throws to close out the game.
STATS
- The Dons outshot the Waves 45.0% to 39.3%.
- San Francisco forced 20 Pepperdine turnovers.
- The Dons outrebounded the Waves 35-33.
UP NEXT
Pepperdine will be back in Malibu following the holiday on Thursday, Dec. 29 hosting Gonzaga. Tip off is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the WCC Network.
