OREM, Utah – Pepperdine women's basketball (2-1) lost their first game of the season to the Utah Valley Wolverines (3-1) 56-85 Friday night at the UCCU center.
 
"Utah Valley is loaded with experience and we felt it tonight," head coach Katie Faulkner said. "It's time to be a team that's committed to growth. Lots of tough lessons but I believe we will get better from this."
 
Shooting .353 from the field, the Waves offense struggled all evening. Turning the ball over a season-high 31 times, Pepperdine had a tough time connecting. With just nine field goal attempts in the opening 10 minutes, it is half of what the Wolverines shot as the home team took a 28-13 lead into the second quarter.
 
Outscoring Utah Valley in the second quarter, the Waves took a couple off the deficit as Bella Green led the way with six points in the 10 minute stretch. Hitting three from distance, Pepperdine went to the locker room down 32-45. Of the Wolverine's 45 points, 26 came from Wave turnovers.
 
Shooting went cold in the third quarter as Pepperdine hit just four of 15 shots taken. Shorna Preston made both shots she took, as she was just three points away from the first double-double of the season. Outscored 13-21, the Wolverines began to pull away, up 45-66 headed into the final quarter.
 
Hitting no threes in the fourth, the cold streak continued for the Waves through the end of the game. Eleven points weren't enough to cut into the Wolverines lead as they put up 19 in the final stretch. Pepperdine finished the game out with a final of 56-85.
 
Up next, the Waves travel to Flagstaff, Ariz. to battle the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 5:00 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required) and live stats can be found on pepperdinewaves.com
 
GAME NOTES
 

• Seleh Harmon led the team as the only Wave in double digits with 12 points on the night, including 3-5 from distance.
• Bella Green was not far behind, scoring her career-high at the division one level with 13 points.
• For the third straight game, Preston led Pepperdine in rebounds with 11, including five offensive boards.
• Harmon is averaging 11.67 points per game to open the season.
• Preston shot .500 from the field, including 1-2 from three.
• Elli Guiney and Taija Sta. Maria put in the most minutes tonight, with just under 30 minutes a piece.
• The Waves were productive off the bench tonight with 33 of the 56 points on the night coming from nonstarters.

 
 
ABOUT PEPPERDINE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Pepperdine women's basketball has made four NCAA postseason appearances in its history, having won the WCC regular-season four times and the WCC Tournament on three occasions. With six All-American selections in program history, the Waves have also seen success in the WNIT Tournament which included a run to the Sweet Sixteen in 2019.
 
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