MALIBU, Calif. — In the first-ever meeting between the Pepperdine women's basketball team and the Georgetown Hoyas, the Waves fell 59-40 in Firestone Fieldhouse on Friday night.

Despite holding a 25-24 halftime lead, the Waves (2-5) had a hard time handling the Hoyas' (4-1) defensive pressure, as Pepperdine turned the ball over eight times in the third quarter. All told, the Pepperdine Waves turned the ball over 31 times, 19 of which came off steals.

BIG WAVES

• Ella Brubaker (University Place, Wash. Curtis HS) led the Waves in scoring for the second straight game with 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting off the bench. She was a perfect 3-of-3 from the free-throw line.

• Jane Nwaba (Carson, Calif. Palisades Charter HS) filled the box score with nine points, two rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block in 27 minutes.

• Megan Harkey (Summerfield, N.C./Northwest Guilford HS) chipped in six points, two rebounds and a steal.

KEY STATS

• In the defensive-heavy slugfest, Pepperdine out-shot Georgetown by connecting on 37.2% of its field goals, compared to Georgetown's 33.9% clip.

• Georgetown out-rebounded the Waves by a 42-29 margin, marking just the second time Pepperdine has been outrebounded this season. 

• Pepperdine led by as many as eight points in the second quarter before the Hoyas came roaring back in the third.

Pepperdine got an early 4-0 lead thanks to Harkey's first basket of the game and two free throws from Maggie Vick (Morristown, Tenn./Lakeway Christian HS), but the Hoyas see-sawed back in front. Baskets from Myra Gordon (Fort Worth, Texas/L.D. Bell HS) and KK Brodie (Columbia, Mo./Rock Bridge HS) helped the Waves get back in front, then Nwaba's first points of the game capped off a low-scoring 10-7 first quarter in favor of Pepperdine.

In the second quarter, the Waves extended their lead despite a defensive push from Georgetown. Addi Melone (Las Vegas, Nev./Centennial HS) put Pepperdine up 12-7 on the Waves' first possession of the frame, then the Waves worked the ball around the horn to find an open Nwaba in the corner, who promptly drained a three to make it a 15-7 game. Pepperdine led by eight points once more, as Emerita Mashaire (Helsinki, Finland/HBA Marksy) barreled into the lane and finished a layup through contact to make it a 17-9 game with 5 minutes and 59 seconds to play.

Yet Georgetown got back in the game with its defense. The Hoyas' full-court pressure sped up the game, then led to four straight points. Brubaker checked in and made an immediate impact by making a jumper through contact, completing the three-point play and putting Pepperdine up 20-13 with 3 minutes and 32 seconds to go. An 8-0 Georgetown run sparked by its defense gave momentum to the visitors from that point forward. Trailing by two, Pepperdine reclaimed the lead on the final possession as Vick's straight-away three gave the Waves a 25-24 lead at halftime.

A quick 5-0 run from the Hoyas and two empty possessions from the Waves were harbingers of Georgetown's decisive third quarter. Although the Waves tied the game at 29 off a jumper from Harkey, then took the lead on a fast-break layup from Gordon off a Melone assist, Pepperdine went cold. Georgetown went on a 7-0 run and forced four-straight Pepperdine turnovers to take a 38-33 lead with 2 minutes and 38 seconds to play in the third. Brubaker nailed a three to pull Pepperdine within two, yet the Hoyas closed the quarter on a 7-0 run.

Trailing 45-36 in the fourth quarter, Nwaba's steal turned into a fast-break layup from Brubaker to open the scoring for the Waves. However, this would be Pepperdine's last points of the quarter until Nwaba made a long two with 34 seconds to go in the game. In between those two shots, Georgetown extended its lead to as many as 21 points en route to winning 59-40.