MALIBU, California – The Pepperdine women's basketball team fell to West Coast Conference foe San Diego 63-53 on Saturday afternoon inside Firestone Fieldhouse.
The Toreros (5-8, 13-12) had the slight advantage in shooting percentage by shooting 40.7% compared to the Waves' (3-7, 7-12) 39.6%. Pepperdine did dominate the second quarter, but it wasn't enough to get past San Diego the rest of the way.
BIG WAVES
- Freshman Ally Stedman (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle HS) notched 14 points and had four steals.
- Redshirt junior Eve Braslis (Newton, Victoria, Australia/Geelong College/Utah Valley) collected 10 points and grabbed six rebounds.
- Senior Malia Bambrick (Santa Clarita, Calif./Bishop Alemany HS) had nine points and three assists.
GAME RECAP
Becky Obinma (Menifee, Calif./Rosary Academy/Texas Christain) scored the first three points of the game, but San Diego answered back and went on an eight-point scoring run to take the lead 8-3. The Waves tied it up at 10-10 thanks to Braslis and
Helena Friend (Huntington Beach, Calif./Blair Academy). Braslis tied the game again at 12-12, but the Toreros took the lead and finished the first quarter up by two at 16-14.
In the second quarter, Pepperdine took the lead back early at 18-16 thanks to a Stedman jump shot and two free throws by Bambrick. San Diego went on a six-point scoring run to change the lead again at 23-20 in favor of the Toreros. Pepperdine countered San Diego's scoring run and collected 10 consecutive points to head into the half with the lead at 30-23.
The Toreros opened up the third quarter with back-to-back layups to close the margin to 30-27. The Waves increased the lead to seven points at 36-29, but the Toreros scored another six straight points to get within one at 36-35. San Diego had the last five points of the quarter to head into the final frame tied at 42 apiece.
San Diego took the lead early in the fourth at 46-42 and it was all Toreros from there. The Waves were able to get back within two at 48-46, but another four consecutive points gave San Diego a larger lead at 52-46. Stedman hit a basket to get the Waves back within three at 54-51. At 59-53, the Toreros made four free throws to close out the game and take home the win.
STATS
- San Diego forced 23 turnovers compared to Pepperdine's 20.
- The Waves had the rebounding advantage at 33-32.
- There were five lead changes and the game was tied five times.
UP NEXT
The Waves continue the homestand by hosting Pacific on Tuesday, Feb. 15. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the WCC Network.
