RENO, Nev. — Playing its second-straight road game, the Pepperdine women's basketball team fell 64-41 to the Nevada Wolf Pack in Lawlor Events Center on Friday night.

After both teams shook off a slow first quarter, the Wolf Pack (2-1) used a couple of key runs and 25 Waves' (2-3) turnovers to hand Pepperdine its second road loss. Nevada's defense limited the Waves to shooting a season-low 25% from the field. Although Pepperdine out-rebounded Nevada 38-36, defensive breakdowns and turnovers allowed the Wolf Pack to pull away for good in the third quarter.

BIG WAVES

• Graduate transfer Myra Gordon (Fort Worth, Texas/L.D. Bell HS) led Pepperdine with nine points.

• Senior Jane Nwaba (Carson, Calif. Palisades Charter HS) added eight points, four rebounds, two blocks, two steals and two assists.

• Junior guard Emerita Mashaire (Helsinki, Finland/HBA Marksy) chipped in eight points, four rebounds and two steals off the bench.

• Playing in her home state of Nevada, Addi Melone (Las Vegas, Nev./Centennial HS) had seven points, two assists and two rebounds.

Playing against an opportunistic Wolf Pack defense, the Waves had a hard time finding their offensive rhythm in the first quarter. Nevada guard Audrey Roden spearheaded the Wolf Pack defense early; her game-high six steals and activity on the perimeter led to Pepperdine going 2-for-12 in the first quarter with 10 turnovers.  

Gordon's first basket of the night got the Waves on the board at the 8:30 mark, but the offense went cold for nearly four minutes until Gordon scored again. Fortunately for Pepperdine, Nevada struggled to make shots in the first quarter, as they went 3-for-13 (23.1%) from the field in the frame. 

After a 10-4 first quarter in favor of the Wolf Pack, Nwaba got to the line on Pepperdine's first possession and sank both free throws to pull Pepperdine within four. However, the Nevada offense woke up and rattled off an 11-2 run to make the score 21-8, Wolf Pack. With 4 minutes and 32 seconds to go in the half, a three from Melone helped spark a 10-3 Pepperdine run. Of those 10 points, seven were from Mashaire, who drove to the rim, drew contact and nailed Pepperdine's first three of the night to help make it a 24-18 game. Mashaire split a pair of free throws with 50 seconds to go to make the score 26-19 in favor of Nevada at halftime.

In the third quarter, Gordon opened the scoring with four quick points to get Pepperdine back within striking distance. The Waves pulled within one point off a Nwaba basket with 7:57 left to go, yet the Wolf Pack pulled away with a decisive 10-0 run in 2 minutes and 50 seconds. A Helena Friend (Huntington Beach, Calif./Blair Academy) three-pointer snapped the scoreless streak and made it a 36-28 ballgame, yet the Wolf Pack pushed their lead back to double-figures on the next possession.

From there, Pepperdine would be within single digits of Nevada two more times: first, when Nwaba once again attacked the basket to make it a 38-30 game, and then off a free throw from Gordon with 2:34 left in the frame. But Roden — who led all scorers with 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting — sparked another Nevada lead that gave the Wolf Pack a major advantage for the rest of the game.

UP NEXT: Pepperdine wraps up its three-game road trip with a 5:30 p.m. PT game at Boise State on Monday, Nov. 20.