SPOKANE, Wash. — Kicking off its Pacific Northwest trip on Thursday night, the Pepperdine women's basketball team fell 83-46 to the West Coast Conference-leading #19 Gonzaga Bulldogs.

The Waves (5-18, 1-9 WCC) hung with the #19 Bulldogs (23-2, 10-0 WCC) in the first quarter as they relied on their half-court defense and got a boost from Emerita Mashaire (Helsinki, Finland/HBA Marksy) in the first half. However, the Bulldogs' three-point shooting blew the game open in the third quarter. Gonzaga ended up connecting on 41.7% of its threes and 49.2% of its field goals on the night.

BIG WAVES

• Jane Nwaba (Carson, Calif. Palisades Charter HS) led the Waves with 11 points and nine rebounds. 

• Emerita Mashaire (Helsinki, Finland/HBA Marksy) added seven points, two assists and a rebound off the bench.

• Jorynn Ross (Milwaukee, Wisc./Summer Creek HS) chipped in six points on 3-for-4 shooting.

• Maggie Vick (Morristown, Tenn./Lakeway Christian HS) also finished with six points and two rebounds in 17 minutes of action. 

Pepperdine and Gonzaga were locked in a low-scoring first quarter as the Waves' battled back from an early 9-0 deficit to make things competitive. Two layups from Vick bookended a personal 5-0 run from Mashaire that helped the Waves tie the game with three minutes to play in the frame. The Bulldogs extended their lead to eight and the Waves had a chance to make it a six-point game, but a late layup was waved off at the buzzer.

Ross eventually helped the Waves pull within six on Pepperdine's first possession of the second quarter, then the Pepperdine defense held off the Bulldogs for over three minutes. While the defense kept the door open for the Waves, the offense couldn't take advantage of the opportunity. The Bulldogs would go on a 7-2 run to take a 26-13 lead, and although the Waves pulled within 10 on an Addi Melone (Las Vegas, Nev./Centennial HS) three, Gonzaga held a 36-22 lead at halftime.

On the Waves' first possession of the second half, Vick corralled in her own miss and finished a layup to pull Pepperdine within a dozen. Pepperdine kept pace in a back-and-forth start to the third quarter until a 7-0 run midway through the frame gave the Bulldogs a 25-point lead — their largest of the night. From there, the Bulldogs didn't relent on either end of the floor: Pepperdine shot 21.4% from the field in the fourth quarter while Gonzaga capped off the 83-46 win with a 20-point final frame.