Despite career performances from multiple Waves, #5 UCLA defeated the Pepperdine women's basketball team 91-54 Tuesday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion.
 
The Waves (1-2) got off to a slow start, putting 11 points up in the first quarter. Over half of those came from graduate Ornela Muca (Athens, Greece). Pepperdine fell behind in the first quarter and the fifth-ranked Bruins (3-0) never looked back.
 
Pepperdine stayed fairly even with UCLA the remainder of the game, only scoring between five and eight less points a quarter, but they were not able to overcome a detrimental first quarter, losing with a final score of 91-54.
 
BIG WAVES
 
Graduate Ornela Muca (Athens, Greece) had a career-high 20 points, including four field goals from three.
 
Freshman Chloe Sotell (Samford, Conn.) matched her career-high with seven points with two threes.
 
Senior Megan Harkey (Summerfield, N.C.) hit the first three-pointer of her career, falling just one point short of a record high in scoring with 11 points.
 
KEY STATS
 
The Waves outshot the Bruins from three, good for 35% of the 26 put up compared to 31% of the Bruins' 26 shots.
 
For the first time this season, Pepperdine turned the ball over fewer times than the opponent with 13 turnovers compared to UCLA's 14.
 
22 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive side of the ball did not give Pepperdine enough second chances compared to UCLA's 56 rebounds, including 23 offensive rebounds.
 
RECAP
 
From the start, Pepperdine struggled to get on the board and did not score until over six minutes of the first quarter were gone. Muca would be the first Wave to score, sinking one of her four threes with just under four minutes to go. At the end of the first quarter, Pepperdine trailed 11-31.
 
The second quarter was much better on the defensive side of the ball. Holding the Bruins to 19 points, the Waves were looking to make up some ground on the offensive side with three different players scoring from beyond the arc, including Harkey for her first career three-pointer. Almost getting even in the second quarter with 14 points, Pepperdine trailed 25-50 at half.
 
Muca led the Waves in the third quarter with five points. Sotell was not far behind with three points of her own. With one quarter to go, Pepperdine stared down a 33 point deficit, trailing 37-70 with ten minutes to go.
 
The fourth and final quarter was the closest the Waves would get to matching the Bruins. Scoring 17 compared to the opponent's 21, Pepperdine was competitive in the final stretch. Two more threes would contribute to a season-high nine for the Waves.
 
As the final whistle blew, Pepperdine could not tame the UCLA offense, falling 54-91.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Waves travel to California Baptist on Saturday for a 11 a.m. tip-off.