Pepperdine Unable to Hold On Against Portland

Saturday, December 31

Malibu, Calif.

1:00 p.m. PT

Pepperdine University

6-8,1-3WCC

Portland

10-5,4-0WCC

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Portland	18	22	20	26	86
Pepperdine	24	17	17	18	76

Marly Walls

Photo by: Morgan Davenport

12/31/2022 4:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

By: by Athletic Communications

MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine women's basketball team was unable to hold on against Portland on Saturday afternoon in Firestone Fieldhouse, falling 86-76.

The Waves (6-8, 1-3 WCC) and Pilots (10-5, 4-0 WCC) were neck-and-neck through the first half, but Portland took the momentum in the third quarter after tying the game at 44 and never letting up.

BIG WAVES

Graduate forward Theresa Grace Mbanefo (Otesgo, Minn./Blaine HS/Cornell) drained 20 points by shooting 9-for-14. Mbanefo had three assists and brought down five rebounds.
Graduate guard Marly Walls (Bardstown, Ky./Nelson County HS/Bucknell) also collected 20 points by shooting 9-for-15. She dished out six assists and had six rebounds.
Sophomore guard Ally Stedman (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle HS) had 13 points and four steals.

GAME RECAP

At the start of the game, the Waves took a 4-0 advantage over the Pilots. Pepperdine had a layup and three-pointer to extend the lead by seven, 13-6. Portland then went on a seven-point scoring run and tied the game at 15-all. Pepperdine turned it up a notch and closed out the first quarter with a 24-18 lead.

In the second quarter, Portland scored the first bucket and was able to get within three, 24-21. Mbanefo and Walls each put up baskets and gave the Waves a seven-point lead again, 28-21. After exchanging baskets on both sides, Pepperdine had seven straight points to extend the advantage to double-digits, 37-26, but Portland had eight consecutive points of their own to get back within three. With under a minute to go, Portland sank two free throws and a layup to hold the Waves to a one-point lead, 41-40, heading into the break.

Following halftime, Portland and Pepperdine each had baskets, before the Pilots had a six-point scoring run to take the lead for the first time at 48-44. The Waves and Pilots battled back and forth, although Portland had five straight points to get the advantage to seven, 58-51. Rosemary Odebunmi (Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria/Sierra Canyon HS) drained two free throws with under 30 seconds left in the third to get the Waves within two, 60-58, heading into the final 10 minutes.

In the final frame, the Pilots scored the first five points to tack onto their lead, 64-58. Portland had another six straight points to get a double-digit advantage at 72-62. The Waves began to fight back and were able to get within three, 78-75, after a Stedman three-pointer. In the final two minutes, Portland regained control and closed out the game with three free throws to take home the win.

STATS

The Waves out-rebounded the Pilots 33 to 29.
Portland outshot Pepperdine 54.2% to 48.4%.
The Pilots forced 21 Waves' turnovers.

NOTABLE

Freshman guard Hailey Hoff (San Bruno, Calif./Capuchino HS) played a season-high 14 minutes in her second game as a Wave and notched six points.

UP NEXT

Pepperdine will hit the road and travel back to Northern California to visit Pacific on Thursday, Jan. 5. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will be streamed on the WCC Network.