MALIBU, Calif. — Pepperdine women's basketball senior Jane Nwaba set a new career high with 22 points, yet the Waves fell 78-54 against San Francisco in Firestone Fieldhouse on Thursday.

The Waves (5-16, 1-7 West Coast Conference) hung with the Dons (9-12, 5-3 WCC) until San Francisco's star duo of Jasmine Gayles and Debora dos Santos took over in a decisive 13-0, second-quarter run. The Dons out-shot Pepperdine by connecting on 46.8% of their field goals — including 12-for-24 from three — compared to the Waves' 32.3% clip.

BIG WAVES

• Jane Nwaba (Carson, Calif. Palisades Charter HS) had a career high with 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting — including 2-for-3 from beyond the arc — six rebounds, four assists and two blocks. All of those stats led the team.

• Jorynn Ross (Milwaukee, Wisc./Summer Creek HS) chipped in six points and tied the team high with six rebounds.

• Emerita Mashaire (Helsinki, Finland/HBA Marksy) added six points off the bench.

Pepperdine kept things close in the first quarter, getting out to an 8-5 lead thanks to four early points from Nwaba. However, the Dons countered with an 8-0 run of their own to take a lead it would not relinquish. Mashaire's pair of layups late in the quarter helped the Waves pull within four, yet Jasmine Gayles hit a three on USF's last possession to make the score 19-12, USF.

The Dons blew the game open in the second quarter, shooting 62.5% from the field and going 3-for-5 from three. A 13-0 run by Gayles and Debora dos Santos extended the Dons' lead to 24 until free throws from Maggie Vick (Morristown, Tenn./Lakeway Christian HS) and another bucket from Nwaba snapped Pepperdine's scoring drought.

Trailing 43-23 heading into the second half, Nwaba and Megan Harkey (Summerfield, N.C./Northwest Guilford HS) scored the first three points of the third quarter before the Dons went on a 9-0 run. The Waves had some success getting the ball inside to Jorynn Ross (Milwaukee, Wisc./Summer Creek HS), who scored four third-quarter points, and when Nwaba got to the free-throw line, yet untimely open threes from the Dons halted Pepperdine's momentum.

Pepperdine closed the third quarter on a 6-2 run off four free throws, then pulled within 17 points off Nwaba's second three of the game to open the fourth, but the Waves couldn't make a dent in the Dons' lead.