MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine women's basketball team earned a 68-48 home victory over PCH Cup rival LMU on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Waves (7-12, 2-7) came out in the first quarter and put up 22 points compared to the Lions' (5-15, 2-7) 11 and never let go of the lead.
 
BIG WAVES
 

• Graduate guard Marly Walls (Bardstown, Ky./Nelson County HS/Bucknell) led the squad with 23 points by shooting 6-for-7 from the field, 3-for-3 from long range and 8-for-9 at the free throw line. She dished out seven assists, had a block and a steal. This is the fourth game this season Walls has had 20-plus points.
• Graduate forward Theresa Grace Mbanefo (Otsego, Minn./Blaine HS/Cornell) put up 12 points by shooting 6-for-7.
• Junior forward Jane Nwaba (Carson, Calif./Palisades Charter HS) collected eight points and led the Waves in rebounds with nine. Nwaba had four assists and one steal.
• Sophomore guard Helena Friend (Huntington Beach, Calif./Blair Academy) had eight points and two rebounds.

 
GAME RECAP
 
LMU hit one from long range at the start of the game, but Walls answered with a three of her own to tie the game 3-3. The Lions made another three-pointer, but the Waves had 11 straight points to take a 14-6 lead. In the last two minutes of play in the first quarter, Mbanefo made back-to-back layups to give Pepperdine a 22-11 edge.
 
In the second quarter, the Waves and Lions went back and forth before Pepperdine earned five consecutive points to increase the advantage, 40-22. With less than five seconds before the half, Drea Brumfield (Chehalis, Wash./W.F. West HS) drained a three to give the Waves a 43-23 lead going into the break.
 
Following the break, LMU made the first basket to make it 43-25. After Walls scored a bucket of her own, the Lions had five-straight, 45-30. Then, Pepperdine had five consecutive points to get back up by 20 at 50-30. In the last two minutes of the third quarter, Walls made two free throws and Mbanefo sank a layup to put the advantage at 57-36.
 
In the final frame, Becky Obinma (Menifee, Calif./Rosary Academy/TCU) put up a layup, though Cassandra Gordon of LMU scored seven straight to get the score to 59-43. The Waves went on a six-point scoring run to increase the lead to 65-43. In the final 20 seconds of play, LMU drained a three-pointer and the Waves held onto the ball to collect the victory.
 
STATS

• The Waves outshot the Lions' 46.0% to 30.9%.
• Pepperdine out-rebounded LMU 43-32.
• The Lions forced 17 Waves' turnovers.

 
UP NEXT
 
The Waves will travel to the Pacific Northwest to matchup against Portland on Thursday, Jan. 26. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the WCC Network.