MALIBU, Calif.  – Pepperdine women's basketball (16-11, 7-8 WCC) got back in the win column with a convincing 76-55 win over San Diego (9-19, 3-12 WCC) Thursday night in Firestone.
 
"Start to finish I feel like we were really keyed in on what [San Diego] needed to do to have success," head coach Katie Faulkner said, "And ultimately, we disrupted those things really well. A beautiful collective effort from our team!"
 
Leading for all but six minutes tonight, all three lead changes and ties would come in the first quarter. Starting out neck-and-neck Pepperdine and San Diego fought for every point, tied 9-9 midway through the opening quarter. A Shorna Preston three gave the Waves the advantage before again being tied at 15-15. Bella Green and Lina Falk drained five points for the Waves as Elli Guiney capped a 7-0 lead off with a pair of free throws as Pepperdine led 22-15 after one.
 
Outscored 17-13 in the latter half of the opening 20 minutes, the Toreros cut into the seven-point lead. Taija Sta. Maria went 3-for-5 down the stretch, leading the Waves in points as well as shots taken. San Diego, scoring six in transition, began to threaten Pepperdine who took a narrow 35-32 lead into the locker room.
 
Defensively locked in coming out of the break, the Waves allowed just nine points in the third. Meghan Fiso and Green tied for the title of leading scorer in the quarter with five a piece. Preston snatched two steals as Pepperdine scored six off Torero turnovers to retake a double digit lead at 52-41 headed into the fourth.
 
Putting the exclamation point on the night, the Waves dropped a night-high 24 to end the game. Preston and Sta. Maria led the team, both scoring seven. Six different Waves scored in the final minutes for the definition of a team win. Tonight snaps a two-game skid Pepperdine was on after losing a pair of contests on the road last week. The 21 point victory also avenges the narrow three-point loss in San Diego Jan. 10. 
 
GAME NOTES
 

• Taija Sta. Maria led the team with 15 points tonight.
• Defensively, Bella Green grabbed the most rebounds with seven.
• Shorna Preston put up an impressive line with 12 points, five rebounds, two assists, and four of the six steals for the Waves.
• Bookending the game tonight with two strong performances, Pepperdine scored the most in the first and final quarters.
• Finishing strong, the largest lead of the night was the final line of 21.
• The Waves outshot the Toreros from distance 9-3.
• Pepperdine capitalized on turnovers with 23 points off 18 mishandled Torero balls.
• All active players saw minutes on the court tonight for the Waves.

 
Pepperdine is back in Firestone Saturday for the final home game of the regular season. With tipoff scheduled for 2 p.m., senior day festivities will begin shortly beforehand, with commemorative Firestone floor replicas handed out to the first fans in attendance. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required) with live stats available at www.pepperdinewaves.com
 
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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