SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Pepperdine women's basketball team dropped a West Coast Conference road game 75-63 to San Diego on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Waves (8-17, 3-12) fell behind early in the first quarter 23-6 to the Toreros (15-10, 9-5). Pepperdine then got hot to outscore the opposition in three of the four quarters, but it wasn't enough to surpass the lead San Diego had built.
 
BIG WAVES

• Sophomore guard Ally Stedman (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle HS) led the Waves with 14 points. She had three assists and three rebounds.
• Redshirt senior forward Becky Obinma (Menifee, Calif./Rosary Academy/TCU) put up 13 points and had a career-high four assists. She also blocked two shots.
• Graduate guard Marly Walls (Bardstown, Ky./Nelson County HS/Bucknell) also collected 13 points and had six rebounds.
• Graduate forward Theresa Grace Mbanefo (Otsego, Minn./Blaine HS/Cornell) notched 12 points and brought down a team-high nine rebounds.

GAME RECAP
 
In the first quarter, the Waves and Toreros each scored a bucket, but San Diego then went on a 19-0 run to take a 21-2 lead. Stedman drained a three with under a minute in the first to make it 23-6.
 
The Waves sank four straight free throws to get the score at 23-10. The Toreros hit back-to-back jumpers to increase the lead 30-12, though Stedman cleanly put up a step-back three to cut the deficit in half. The Waves then scored six-straight to cut the opposition's advantage to 12 and made it 33-21. With under a minute to play, the Toreros put up one more layup to get the score at 41-25 heading into the break. 
 
Following halftime, Mbanefo collected four consecutive points in the beginning of the third. USD made a free throw, but Pepperdine answered with a 6-0 run to get within seven at 42-35. A six-point scoring run for the opposition increased their lead back to double-digits, 50-37. The Waves and Toreros exchanged baskets through the rest of the quarter and went into the final quarter with a score of 59-44 in favor of USD.
 
In the final frame, both squads put up a layup before Walls collected five straight points to make it 61-51. Pepperdine and San Diego went back and forth getting shots up, including a layup by Obinma and one from long range by Walls to get back within seven at 70-63. With under a minute left to play, the Toreros made five free throws to collect the win.
 
STATS

• The Toreros had the shooting advantage shooting 47.6% compared to the Waves' 35.2%.
• San Diego out-rebounded Pepperdine by one, 38-37.
• The Toreros forced 18 Waves' turnovers.

 
UP NEXT
 
Pepperdine will have a short break before heading 19.1 miles down Pacific Coast Highway to matchup with rival LMU on Saturday, Feb. 18. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the WCC Network.