SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's basketball team fell 92-36 at Santa Clara on Thursday night.

Early defensive breakdowns and 17 turnovers cost the Waves (5-12, 1-3 WCC) against the Broncos (14-5, 2-2 WCC), who shot a season-high 65.5% from the field. Santa Clara led the entire way and scored at least 20 points in its first three quarters.

BIG WAVES

• Megan Harkey (Summerfield, N.C./Northwest Guilford HS) led Pepperdine with 10 points, eight of which came in the second half.

• Emerita Mashaire (Helsinki, Finland/HBA Marksy) chipped in six points and three rebounds.

• Jorynn Ross (Milwaukee, Wisc./Summer Creek HS) also finished with six points and a team-high six rebounds.

Although the Broncos got out to an 8-2 lead, the Waves went on a 5-0 run off a layup from Ross and a three-point play from Mi'Cole Cayton (Stockton, Calif./Saint Mary's HS) to pull within one with 5:22 to play. But Broncos forward Olivia Pollerd sparked a 17-0 Bronco run to end the quarter. From there, Santa Clara didn't look back.

Pepperdine's offense went cold for nearly seven minutes in the second quarter while the Broncos extended their lead to as many as 30 points midway through the frame. The Waves strung some baskets together late in the second half thanks to a layup from Harkey and a Jane Nwaba (Carson, Calif. Palisades Charter HS) fastbreak layup off a steal, yet five late Santa Clara points made it a 52-15 game at halftime. 

The second half was all Broncos. Harkey snapped a 14-4 Bronco run with two baskets midway through the third quarter and Pepperdine opened the fourth quarter on a 5-0 run. Pepperdine did a better job getting to the rim and drawing fouls in the fourth quarter, but Santa Clara's reserves put the finishing touches on the 92-36 win.