MORAGA, Calif. — The Saint Mary's Gaels got off to a 15-1 run and never looked back as they handed the Pepperdine women's basketball team a 75-47 loss in Moraga on Saturday.

The Waves (5-21, 1-12 WCC) got out to a slow start on offense while the Gaels (11-15, 4-8 WCC) connected on at least 50% of their field goals in the first three quarters. Thanks to Saint Mary's freshman Maia Jones' career-high 31 points, the Gaels took a double-digit lead early and led by as many as 34 points. 

Pepperdine's Jane Nwaba (Carson, Calif. Palisades Charter HS) and Jorynn Ross (Milwaukee, Wisc./Summer Creek HS) led the Waves with double-doubles; their efforts helped the Waves out-rebound the Gaels by a 42-32 margin — 21 of which were on the offensive glass. 

BIG WAVES

• Jane Nwaba (Carson, Calif. Palisades Charter HS) led the Waves with a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double to go along with four assists.

• Jorynn Ross (Milwaukee, Wisc./Summer Creek HS) had her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while also recording two steals and a block.

• Addi Melone (Las Vegas, Nev./Centennial HS), Ella Brubaker (University Place, Wash./Curtis HS) and Mi'Cole Cayton (Stockton, Calif./St. Mary's HS) finished with five points apiece.

The lid appeared to be on the basket early for the Waves, who came up empty on their first six possessions and started the game shooting 0-for-12 from the field. While Saint Mary's got out to an 11-0 lead, the Waves got on the board with 5 minutes and 58 seconds left in the quarter with a free throw from Nwaba. In the last 90 seconds, Pepperdine strung together consecutive scoring possessions thanks to a put-back from Nwaba and a layup from Maggie Vick (Morristown, Tenn./Lakeway Christian HS).

Saint Mary's pushed the lead to 20 points on their second possession of the second quarter and didn't look back. Megan Harkey (Summerfield, N.C./Northwest Guilford HS) and Nwaba helped Pepperdine trade baskets with the hot-shooting Gaels, yet the hosts ripped off a 10-2 run over the course of six minutes to go up 37-9. All told, Harkey and Nwaba scored all eight of the Waves' points in the second quarter. 

Although Pepperdine's offense put together a 34-point second half, the Gaels didn't cool off. Saint Mary's connected on 61.5% of their field goals in the third quarter, which neutralized an 8-2 Pepperdine run sparked by a Cayton three midway through the frame. Unfortunately, the early deficit was too much for Pepperdine to overcome, and despite shooting 5-for-10 from the field in the fourth quarter, the Waves could only pull within 24 points of the Gaels.