The Pepperdine women's basketball team fell to the Gonzaga Bulldogs 81-53 on Saturday afternoon. Before the game, both teams honored Zags' head coach Lisa Fortier– who is currently fighting breast cancer– during the Waves Play 4 Kay pink-out game.
 
The Waves (7-11, 2-7) made an impressive comeback in the second quarter holding The Zags (13-8, 8-2) to single digits, but Pepperdine struggled to find rhythm defensively in the second half, falling 81-53.
 
BIG WAVES
 
Senior Malia Mastora (Alameda, Calif.) led the Waves with 13 points, also collecting two rebounds and dishing out two assists.
 
Senior Ornela Muca (Athens, Greece) hit three from behind the arc in her 10 point performance, collecting four rebounds, an assist and a steal.
 
Senior Emerita Mashaire (Helsinki, Finland) added on four points and led the Waves in rebounds with six total to go with three assists and a steal. 
 
KEY STATS
The Zags scored more from the paint at a rate of 32-22, but the Waves received more help from their bench, scoring 24 compared to Gonzaga's 21 from the reserves.
 
Gonzaga outshot Pepperdine at .464 from the field and .385 from beyond the arc.
 
RECAP
 
The Zags opened the game on a 12-2 run before Makena and Malia Mastora and Maggie Vick hit a slew of layups to get the Waves on the board. By the fifth minute, however, Gonzaga had gone up 23-6 with the help of its 83.3% three-point shooting. Pepperdine would end the first stanza at a 27-10 deficit.
 
The Waves flipped the script in the second quarter, opening on a Makena jumper. Pepperdine allowed only nine Gonzaga points as Muca and Malia hit a three each while the teams' defensive effort caused an almost three-minute Bulldog scoring drought. The Waves made the most of the last 3:30, not allowing another Zag point until the last six seconds of play and the teams went into the locker rooms at a 36-27 break.
 
In the third, Pepperdine was unable to find its footing on the offensive end, seeing a 7-0 Gonzaga run in the first half of the period. Two threes by Muca cut the lead to 16 points, but foul trouble again plagued Pepperdine and the Waves were forced to adjust, ending the quarter at a 59-40 deficit.
 
Pepperdine was held scoreless from beyond the arc in the fourth and just 33.3% from the field as the Gonzaga bigs continued to pound the ball inside. Megan Harkey, Mashaire and Hailey Johnson proved to be bright spots for the Waves as they combined for 10 of the home team's 13 points in the stanza but the Bulldogs' inside game was too much, ending in an 81-53 loss for Pepperdine.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Waves close out the three-game home stretch against Loyola Marymount Tuesday Jan. 28. This is a mental health awareness game and fans are encouraged to wear green. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. The game can be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required).