The Pepperdine women's basketball team came up short 46-54 against the Santa Clara Broncos Thursday night.
 
Despite going on a 7-0 run to end the game, the Waves (8-17, 3-13) ran out of time to catch up to the Broncos (14-12, 8-8) in the 46-54 loss.
 
BIG WAVES
 
Senior Ornela Muca (Athens, Greece) led Pepperdine with 13, tacking on three rebounds and three assists as well.
 
Senior Makena Mastora (Alameda, Calif.) had a team-high six rebounds with six points of her own.
 
Senior Maggie Vick (Morristown, Tenn.) added four rebounds, three assists, and six points.
 
KEY STATS
 
The Waves were better from the field, shooting .354 compared to the Broncos .339.
 
Pepperdine matched Santa Clara on defensive rebounds with both squads grabbing 28.
 
Santa Clara was more aggressive defensively with 11 steals, compared to Pepperdine's three.
 
RECAP
 
The game started off slow for both squads, with the first points coming almost three minutes into play. Pepperdine stopped a 6-0 run by Santa Clara with two free throws from Vick for the Waves' first points of the game. Cold from the field for the entirety of the first quarter, a basket from Muca and senior Megan Harkey (Summerfield, N.C.) would be the only ones of the 10 minute span as Pepperdine trailed 15-6 after one.
 
Mastora opened up the scoring for the Waves with the first three of the game in an attempt to close the nine-point gap. The Broncos were not going down without a fight but thanks to another three from behind the arc, from both Muca and senior Emerita Mashaire (Helsinki, Finland) the deficit was cut to six as Pepperdine headed into the half down 20-26.
 
With eight points in the third quarter, things would begin to unravel for the Waves. A three by freshman Chloe Sotell (Samford, Conn.) was the only basket from the field for Pepperdine until 1:41 left in the third quarter. Santa Clara took a comfortable lead into the fourth quarter, up 43-28 with ten to go.
 
The Broncos would go cold shooting with only two points in the final six minutes of the game, giving the Waves an opportunity to close the gap. Despite a 7-0 run by Pepperdine, highlighted by a three from Mastora, time would run out to complete the comeback as Santa Clara found themselves winning 46-54.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Waves are back home, hosting the Saint Mary's Gaels Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with men's volleyball later in the evening. The game can be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required) and tickets are available at tickets.pepperdinewaves.com