MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's basketball team hung with the Santa Clara Broncos for a half before SCU opened up the third quarter on an 11-0 run to hand the Waves a 79-58 home loss on Saturday.

The Waves (5-17, 1-8 West Coast Conference) held the Broncos (17-7, 5-4 WCC) in check with a defensive stand in the second quarter, but the Broncos broke through with a 9-0 run late in the first half. By connecting on 52% (13-for-25) of their three-pointers, the Broncos held the Waves in check, maintaining a 20-point lead for the majority of the second half.

 

BIG WAVES

• Emerita Mashaire (Helsinki, Finland/HBA Marksy) led Pepperdine with 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting — including 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.

• Helena Friend (Huntington Beach, Calif./Blair Academy) finished in double-figures for the fourth time in five games with 11 points, plus she led the team with three assists and four steals.

• Jane Nwaba (Carson, Calif. Palisades Charter HS) chipped in 10 points, five rebounds and two assists.

 

KEY STATS

• Pepperdine made 19 field goals on 10 assists, while Santa Clara made 29 field goals on 19 assists.

• The Broncos out-shot the Waves by connecting on 44.6% of their field goals, compared to Pepperdine's 38% clip.

• Santa Clara's Olivia Pollerd led all scorers with 25 points on 9-for-12 shooting — including 7-for-8 from beyond the arc.

• Bronco guard Tess Heal's 14-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double was the first against the Waves since USC legend Cheryl Miller did so against Pepperdine on Dec. 4, 1984.

 

Helena Friend and Santa Clara stretch-forward Olivia Pollerd traded baskets in a high-scoring start to the game as Pepperdine got off to a better start against the Broncos in the teams' second meeting. Maggie Vick (Morristown, Tenn./Lakeway Christian HS)'s corner three made it a four-point game midway through the quarter, then Friend pulled Pepperdine within three, 13-10. Mashaire countered Pollerd's third triple with 25 seconds to go to make it a 17-13 game, yet Santa Clara beat the buzzer on the next possession to take a six-point lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Waves then made their best defensive stand of the afternoon by forcing a pair of Santa Clara turnovers and holding the Broncos scoreless in five straight possessions to open the second quarter.

However, both teams were scoreless until SCU guard Tess Heal made her first field goal of the afternoon with 6 minutes and 46 seconds left, which effectively took the lid off the basket for the Broncos. SCU led 23-13 with five minutes left until Pepperdine went on a 6-0 run off layups from Jorynn Ross (Milwaukee, Wisc./Summer Creek HS), Nwaba and Friend. Yet Santa Clara outscored Pepperdine 10-2 down the stretch to take a 34-21 halftime lead.

The Broncos opened the half on an 11-0 run to give them a 24-point lead — their largest of the night. A three from Hailey Johnson (Coto de Caza, Calif./JSerra Catholic HS) sparked a 7-0 Waves run, but Pepperdine could only pull within 17 points in the third quarter.

Pepperdine kept Santa Clara scoreless for the first three minutes of the fourth quarter as the Waves quickly got in the bonus and went on a 5-0 run. However, Pollerd's seventh three of the night and two free throws from Heal snapped SCU's scoring drought. Mashaire nailed a straightaway three midway through the fourth quarter to help Pepperdine pull within 19, yet they couldn't trim the deficit for the rest of the game.

UP NEXT: The Waves take the annual Pacific Northwest trip next weekend, starting with a trip to Spokane for a date with the #19 Gonzaga Bulldogs on Feb. 8.