The Pepperdine women's basketball team hit nine from behind the arc in Monday night's 75-54 loss to Gonzaga.
 
Outscoring the Zags (7-8, 2-2) in the second quarter, the Waves (5-7, 0-3) struggled to overcome the nine-point deficit from the first quarter, eventually losing 75-54.
 
BIG WAVES
 
Senior Ella Brubaker (University Place, Wash.) led the Waves with 17 points in addition to two steals and two rebounds. 
 
Freshman Chloe Sotell (Samford, Conn.) was right behind Brubaker with 15 points and a team high seven assists.
 
Senior Makena Mastora (Alameda, Calif.) was the third Wave to hit double digits with 11 points and led the team with six rebounds.
 
KEY STATS
 
Gonzaga graduate Yvonne Ejim had nearly a third of the team's points with 23.
 
The two squads tied on turnovers with 15 a piece.
 
Struggling on the boards, Pepperdine grabbed 19 rebounds compared to Gonzaga's 41.
 
RECAP
 
Starting off slow and steady, the Waves shot just 31.3 percent from the field, including 20 percent from three. Brubaker, however, was a perfect 2-2 and had eight through the first quarter. Pepperdine trailed early 14-23.
 
The Washington native Brubaker doubled her first quarter performance to have 16 through the first half. Outrebounded 8-22 in the first 20 minutes, the Waves managed to outscore the Zags 17-16 in the second quarter to plant the seeds for a comeback.
 
At half, the Waves were down 31-39.
 
Edging Gonzaga on assists and staying in range on rebounds, things stayed manageable in the third. Mastora led the team in the quarter with five points. With 10 minutes left, Pepperdine was within striking distance with a score of 43-56.
 
Things began to unravel in the final quarter for the Waves. Shooting 23 percent from the field, shots stopped finding the basket as Gonzaga closed the game out.
 
Pepperdine lost to the projected conference champions 75-54.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Waves are back home Jan. 2 to take on the Toreros of San Diego. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. Stats can be found on pepperdinewaves.com and the game will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required.)