LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Despite chipping LMU's lead down to 12 points in the fourth quarter, the Pepperdine women's basketball team fell 75-59 in the second iteration of the PCH Cup at Gersten Pavilion on Saturday.

Turning to a full-court press that limited the Lions (9-11, 4-4 West Coast Conference) without a made field goal for over five minutes, the Waves (5-15, 1-6 West Coast Conference) cut a 24-point deficit in half midway through the fourth quarter. Despite Pepperdine out-scoring the Lions 18-11 in the final frame, the Lions would hang on to sweep the PCH Cup season series.

 

BIG WAVES

• Jane Nwaba (Carson, Calif. Palisades Charter HS) led Pepperdine with a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double. This was her sixth double-double of the season.

• Helena Friend (Huntington Beach, Calif./Blair Academy) finished in double-figures for the third-consecutive game with 12 points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting from the field and a 4-for-4 clip from the free-throw line.

• Maggie Vick (Morristown, Tenn./Lakeway Christian HS) chipped in eight points, four rebounds and a steal.

 

Forcing five first-quarter turnovers helped LMU jump out to a 5-0 lead, yet the Waves hung with their rivals in the first quarter thanks to five first-quarter points from Friend and four from Vick to make it a 19-11 game after the first 10 minutes. The Waves would out-shoot the Lions by connecting on 54.5% of their field goals in the second quarter, yet turnovers hindered Pepperdine once more. LMU extended its lead to as many as 17 points in the second quarter thanks to forcing 11 first-half turnovers.

Eventually, the Lions would take a 64-41 lead after the third quarter, but the Waves showed some resolve in the fourth. Ramping up its defensive pressure, Pepperdine went on an 11-0 run to make it a 66-52 ballgame With 5 minutes and 23 seconds to go, Emerita Mashaire (Helsinki, Finland/HBA Marksy) answered the call by driving into the lane for a contested layup, and then drawing a pivotal charge on the next possession.

However, LMU pushed its lead back to 18 as it finally made a pair of field goals and a free throw with 3 minutes and 32 seconds left. The Waves had one more run in them, going on a 6-0 run to pull within a dozen off a Nwaba layup with 2 minutes and 22 seconds to go, yet LMU held Pepperdine scoreless from that point forward.

UP NEXT: The Waves have a two-game homestand next week, starting with a game against San Francisco next Thursday, Feb. 1 at 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at tickets.pepperdinewaves.com.