RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Guard
Ornela Muca shattered her previous career high and led the Pepperdine women's basketball team to a 75-64 win over California Baptist in the Inland Empire on Saturday afternoon.
Muca, who recorded her previous career high of 22 points last Tuesday at UCLA, dropped 27 points on 47.3% field goal shooting while going 5-for-6 from beyond the arc.
BIG WAVES
- Malia Mastora (Alameda, Calif./Cal State San Marcos) scored 14 points and connected on both of her three point attempts while pulling down five rebounds and earning a block.
- Ornela Muca (Athens, Greece/Cal) also had three rebounds to go with her career afternoon.
- Ella Brubaker (University Place, Wash./The Master's) contributed nine points, all of which came in the second half.
- Makena Mastora (Alameda, Calif./Saint Mary's) tacked on seven points and tied a team-high seven boards for the Waves.
KEY STATS
- The Waves once again outshot the opposition, recording a 47.1 field goal percentage and dominated from long range with 56% of threes made. CBU only connected on 38% of its attempts from the field while shooting just 9% from beyond the arc.
- Pepperdine committed more turnovers than the Lancers, but the Waves scored more off of CBU's mistakes at a rate of 20-14.
- The Waves won the battle of the boards, collecting 41 rebounds to the Lancers' 34.
- Waves off the bench contributed a whopping 38 points in the win compared to just eight from CBU's reserves.
RECAP
CBU won the opening tip and scored four straight points before the Waves could get on the board courtesy of
Emerita Mashaire (Helsinki, Finland/Buffalo) cleanup duty, grabbing the offensive board and putting it back up and in. It didn't take much time for Muca to come alive, draining two in the first stanza, while the Waves would shoot 4-for-7 from long range. In contrast, the Lancers would put up five threes but did not connect on any attempts, leading to a 21-18 first quarter score in favor of Pepperdine.
The second quarter proved much of the same, but CBU caused six Waves turnovers to stay close, running the floor. The Lancers' fastbreak opportunities prevented Pepperdine from setting up in any set defense, but allowed four individual Waves to swat four CBU shot attempts in transition. The Waves continued their shooting streak, connecting on three of four long-range attempts while pulling down 11 rebounds compared to the smaller Lancers' roster who collected seven, sending Pepperdine into the locker rooms with a seven-point lead.
Mashaire once again led the Waves out of the gates, driving into the lane for a layup. Pepperdine's ball control still struggled, however, but 10 third-quarter points from
Makena Mastora helped keep the Lancers at bay. Vick also came alive for four boards in the stanza, getting to the free throw line while battling in the lane. CBU remained dry from the three, missing all seven attempts leading to a 55-40 score heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
The Lancers staged a gritty comeback throughout the fourth quarter but Muca's 10 points were too much to handle. CBU went on an 8-0 run in the opening minutes but Pepperdine used the clock to its advantage while staving off the Lancers' attempt. Waves free throws iced the game down the stretch, eventually leading to a 75-64 Pepperdine win.
UP NEXT
The Waves face a quick turnaround, inviting UC Riverside to Malibu on Monday for a 6 p.m. tip-off.
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