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Pepperdine University Athletics

Jane Nwaba vs. USD
Kyle Cajero
53
Winner Pepperdine PEP 5-9,1-0 WCC
52
San Diego SD 4-10,0-1 WCC
Winner
Pepperdine PEP
5-9,1-0 WCC
53
Final
52
San Diego SD
4-10,0-1 WCC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Pepperdine PEP 8 17 12 16 53
San Diego SD 9 13 21 9 52

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Nwaba's Go-Ahead Layup Gives Waves First WCC Win

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — With 34 seconds to go in the Pepperdine women's basketball team's West Coast Conference opener, senior forward Jane Nwaba drove to the rim and made a go-ahead, right-handed layup to help the Waves prevail 53-52 over the San Diego Toreros on Saturday.

With the win, the Waves (5-9, 1-0 WCC) not only snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Toreros (4-10, 0-1 WCC), but also gave Interim Head Coach Kelsey Keizer her first WCC victory. This is the second straight year Pepperdine has won its conference opener.

 

 

BIG WAVES

  • Jane Nwaba (Carson, Calif./Palisades Charter HS) notched her fifth double-double of the year with 14 points and 12 rebounds, the latter of which tied her career high. She also had three steals.

  • Helena Friend (Huntington Beach, Calif./Blair Academy) chipped in nine points off the bench — including a timely three-pointer late in the fourth quarter that sparked a 6-0 Pepperdine run.

  • Playing her first game in a month, Myra Gordon (Forth Worth, Texas/L.D. Bell HS) scored seven points on 2-for-4 shooting and made all three of her free throws.

  • Jorynn Ross (Milwaukee, Wisc./Summer Creek HS) scored seven points and added eight rebounds.

  • Maggie Vick (Morristown, Tenn./Lakeway Christian HS) finished with six points, three rebounds and a steal.

 

KEY STATS

  • The Waves' bench out-scored the Toreros' bench 26 to 11.

  • Pepperdine held San Diego to 15.4% (2-for-13) from three, which was the Toreros' second-worst mark of the year.

  • In the fourth quarter, the Waves' defense held San Diego without a field goal for the final 4 minutes and 16 seconds.

 

In a matchup against two of the WCC's stingiest defenses, the first quarter became a slugfest from the jump. The Toreros held a slight 9-8 edge after the first 10 minutes despite a seven-point first quarter from Ross.

The pace picked up in the second quarter, as both teams sped each other up in transition. Nwaba's layup two minutes into the frame sparked a 9-0 Pepperdine run that gave the Waves their largest lead up until that point. Making her Pepperdine debut, graduate student guard Mi'Cole Cayton (Stockton, Calif./St. Mary's HS) found Gordon for a jumper, then Gordon's three-point play gave the Waves a 25-18 lead. 

With a 25-22 lead at halftime, the Waves had a slow start to the third quarter, giving up four straight USD points in the opening minute. From that point forward, the Toreros took control in the third quarter; their 8-2 run midway through the third quarter pushed Pepperdine's deficit to six until Vick beat the shot clock buzzer with a three to make it a one-possession game. 

Trailing 45-37 heading into the third quarter, the Waves chipped away at the Toreros' lead. Brubaker's layup opened the scoring for the Waves, and then Emerita Mashaire (Helsinki, Finland/HBA Marksy) was fouled on a transition layup a minute later. She split the free throws, yet capped off a personal 4-0 run with a three on the right wing to make it a 47-43 game in favor of USD.

Then Nwaba took over.

The senior from Carson, Calif. drew a shooting foul, then sank the ensuing free throws. Although USD pushed the lead back to four on the next possession, Nwaba finished another tough layup to make it a one-possession game. Free throws from Dylan Horton appeared to ice the game with two and a half minutes left, but the Waves worked the ball around the horn on the next possession to find Friend in the corner. Her corner three from in front of the Waves' bench sparked a decisive 6-0 run.

As both teams struggled to score over the next 90 seconds, Pepperdine drew a pivotal charge on Horton with 34 seconds to go. The Waves took a timeout, inbounded the ball to Nwaba on the ensuing possession and the senior drove to the rack for the game-winning layup. Friend iced the game with a free throw with nine seconds left, and then KK Brodie (Columbia, Mo./Rock Bridge HS) sealed the win with a defensive rebound on USD's final possession.
 


UP NEXT: Pepperdine returns home to host PCH Cup rival Loyola Marymount on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at tickets.pepperdinewaves.com.
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