MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine women's basketball team had a hard-fought battle against BYU, but fell 63-52 on Saturday afternoon in Firestone Fieldhouse.
 
The Waves (6-12, 1-7) and Cougars (10-8, 5-2) were neck and neck in the first quarter at 14-12, but BYU took over in the second quarter and never let up. Pepperdine did have three players in double-digits for the second straight game.
 
BIG WAVES

• Junior forward Jane Nwaba (Carson, Calif./Palisades Charter HS) led the squad with 15 points by shooting 6-for-12. Nwaba's 15 points ties her career-high. She also had five rebounds.
• Sophomore guard Helena Friend (Huntington Beach, Calif./Blair Academy) tied her career-high in points with 12.
• Sophomore forward Meaali'i Amosa (Garden Grove, Calif./Mater Dei HS) drained 10 points and brought down two rebounds.
• Graduate guard Marly Walls (Bardstown, Ky./Nelson County HS/Bucknell) led Pepperdine in rebounding with eight boards. She also dished six assists and had two steals.

GAME RECAP
 
The Waves scored the first two buckets of the game to take an early 4-0 lead. BYU and Pepperdine exchanged baskets and with under five minutes to play in the first quarter, BYU hit one from long range to take the lead at 11-10. The Cougars scored the last basket of the first 10 minutes and headed into the next 10 minutes with a 14-12 advantage.
 
In the second quarter, BYU collected six straight points to increase the lead to eight at 20-12. The Cougars had eight consecutive points to get a double-digit lead, 28-13. With under 10 seconds left before the half, Amosa drained one from long range to make it 30-20.
 
Following the break, the Cougars sank a three pointer to extend the lead. The Waves had four straight points to cut the deficit back to nine, 42-33. BYU rounded out the third quarter with back-to-back three-pointers by Nani Falatea to go into the fourth quarter with a 50-35 lead.
 
In the final frame, BYU started with a seven-point scoring run to make it 57-35. Friend drained back-to-back threes, before the Cougars earned two free throws. Friend continued her scoring run and collected another six straight to get the score at 59-47. In the last 10 seconds of play, Amosa made a layup, but BYU held the ball to hold onto the victory.
 
STATS

• The Cougars out-shot the Waves 41.7% to 38.9%.
• BYU out-rebounded Pepperdine 38-34.

 
UP NEXT
 
The Waves will have a one-week break before hosting PCH Cup rival LMU on Saturday, Jan. 21. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the WCC Network.