LOS ANGELES, CALIF. –  The Pepperdine women's basketball team lost 54-68 to the LMU Lions Saturday afternoon in Gersten Pavilion.
 
The Waves (8-19, 3-15) held the advantage for the first half, but an offensive drought would give the Lions (11-15, 5-13) the opportunity to take the lead, holding onto it until the final buzzer.
 
BIG WAVES
 
Senior Ella Brubaker (University Place, Wash.) had a team-high 18 points, including every point in the third quarter for the Waves.
 
Senior Makena Mastora (Alameda, Calif.) led on the defensive side of the ball with nine rebounds and a steal.
 
Freshman Chloe Sotell (Samford, Conn) shot .500 from distance, totaling 12 points with two assists and a steal.
 
KEY STATS
 
Pepperdine shot better from the field at .413 compared to LMU's .339.
 
The Lions outrebounded the Waves 37-27.
 
Almost doubling LMU's points in the paint, Pepperdine netted 22 compared to LMU's 12.
 
 
RECAP
 
Senior Maggie Vick (Morristown, Tenn.) got the offense started, scoring the first two buckets of the game for either team, giving the Waves an early 4-0 lead. Two from beyond the arc by senior Malia Mastora (Alameda, Calif.) and one by Sotell triggered an LMU timeout as Pepperdine led 10-3 halfway through the first quarter. The Lions answered what the Waves scored for the remainder of the quarter and as the first came to a close, Pepperdine led with a much smaller lead of 19-15.
 
Two more from distance by Sotell highlighted the beginning of the second quarter as Pepperdine held onto the lead 27-22. The Lions took their first lead of the game with just over half of the second quarter gone as a Lion three made it a 28-27 game. Going toe-to-toe until halftime, the Waves regained the lead going into the locker room 34-33.
 
Pepperdine stalled offensively in the third quarter, only scoring six points. All three baskets came from Brubaker. Defensively, the Waves minimized damage, only allowing 11 points in the third. Headed to the fourth and final quarter, Pepperdine trailed 40-44.
 
Never regaining the lead, the Waves scored nine in the fourth quarter, compared to LMU's 14. Senior Ornela Muca (Athens, Greece) led her team in the quarter with three points as she hit the team's sixth from distance.

Pepperdine lost with a final score of 58-49.
 
UP NEXT
 
 With the second to last home game of the season, the Waves face the Cougars of Washington State in Malibu Thursday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with men's volleyball. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required) and stats can be found on www.pepperdinewaves.com