PORTLAND, Ore. — A big third quarter from the Portland Pilots handed the Pepperdine women's basketball team a 78-46 loss in the Chiles Center on Saturday afternoon.

Thanks to their full-court press, the Pilots (17-8, 9-2 West Coast Conference) scored 26 of their points off 24 turnovers from the Waves (5-19, 1-10 WCC). Portland made 50% of its field goals in three out of the four quarters, helping the team to out-shoot Pepperdine by connecting on 49.1% of its field goals to the Waves' 36.4% clip.

BIG WAVES

• Jane Nwaba (Carson, Calif. Palisades Charter HS) led the Waves with 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

• Helena Friend (Huntington Beach, Calif./Blair Academy) finished in double-figures for the third time in five games with 11 points. She also added three rebounds and two steals.

• Jorynn Ross (Milwaukee, Wisc./Summer Creek HS) added nine points and six rebounds off the bench.

When Pepperdine was able to break the Pilots' press, the Waves were successful early. Addi Melone (Las Vegas, Nev./Centennial HS) found Ella Brubaker (University Place, Wash./Curtis HS) with a cross-court pass for a layup, then a Brubaker steal led to an easy layup for Ross on the next possession to make it 12-11, Portland. However, the Pilots closed the quarter on a 4-0 run to take a 16-11 lead after the first quarter.

Pepperdine made it a one-possession game on its first possession of the second quarter when Nwaba found Megan Harkey (Summerfield, N.C./Northwest Guilford HS) for a layup. An 8-2 Portland run aided by four free throws extended the Pilots' lead to nine, but Nwaba stopped the run by drawing a whistle and finishing a difficult layup through two defenders with 5 minutes and 55 seconds to play. The Waves would pull within single digits of the Pilots two more times before halftime as Portland held a 35-24 advantage at the break.

Portland kicked off the second half on a 9-2 run, holding Pepperdine without a made field goal until Ross broke the press by herself, dribbled the length of the court and finished a layup through contact three minutes into the third quarter. She completed the three-point play, but an 8-0 Portland run gave the Pilots a 20-point lead for the first time that afternoon. All told, the Pilots out-scored the Waves 23-12 in the third quarter while forcing seven turnovers. From there, Portland forced another seven turnovers in the fourth quarter and out-scored the Waves 20-10 en route to the 78-46 win.