MALIBU, Calif. – Pepperdine women's basketball (20-12, 10-8 WCC) beat UC Davis (23-11, 15-5 Big West) on a buzzer-beating three by
Taija Sta. Maria Thursday night in the first round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) for the Waves' first postseason win in Firestone Fieldhouse, taking the game 71-68.
"March is fun," head coach
Katie Faulkner said. "I am really proud of our togetherness. This is a team that thrives on growth and is dedicated to getting better."
In a game with 15 lead changes and seven ties, it was clear from the beginning the game would come down to the wire. Breaking into double digits in the opening quarter,
Elli Guiney emerged early as tonight's leader with 11 in the first 10 minutes of the game.
Meghan Fiso and
Bella Green evenly split eight with four a piece as just three Waves would get on the board through the first as Pepperdine narrowly trailed UC Davis 21-19.
Shooting .600 from the field in the second quarter, Pepperdine made up the deficit in the second outscoring the Aggies 20-15 to take a slim 39-36 lead into the locker room. Five different Waves found the basket down the stretch, led by
Ivory Finley who had seven, shooting a perfect 3-3 from the field.
Going cold in the third, shooting just .294 from the field, the Aggies made up ground lost in the latter half of the first. Leading the team with nine in the third, Guiney was nearing her career-high of 26 with a quarter to go. Outscored 18-13, Pepperdine trailed 52-54 in the back-and-forth contest that proved to be gritty on both ends of the ball.
Stretching the lead to the largest of the night in the final quarter, it was
Taija Sta. Maria's turn to drop double digits, putting eight of her quarter-high 11 up down the stretch to put the Waves in a winning position. Up by eight with just under two left, the Aggies rallied back to tie it 68-68 with six seconds left.
In just her second three shot all game, Sta. Maria sunk the game-winner as time expired to give Pepperdine the lead and the game. The Waves beat the Aggies 71-68 in the opening round of the WNIT for the first postseason game ever in Malibu, moving Firestone Fieldhouse's record in the postseason to 1-0 for the program.
GAME NOTES
- Elli Guiney dropped a career high 27 in her ninth game this season scoring 20+.
- Taija Sta. Maria was the only other Wave in double digits with 13 points.
- Bella Green led the team on the glass with 15 rebounds, including a team-high four offensive rebounds.
- Pepperdine was narrowly outshot .400 to .410 by UC Davis.
- The Waves hit nine from distance, one more than the Aggies' eight.
- The Aggies best scoring run of the whole night was the final minute of the fourth quarter, pushing the Waves to the edge in the win.
- Four different Waves tallied for nine threes as Guiney hit six, moving her to second all-time in the record books for threes in a single season with 68.
- This is Pepperdine's first 20-win season since 2018-19.
- As the first postseason game in Malibu, it is also the first postseason win in Malibu.
The Waves will host Southern Utah in the second round of the WNIT here in Malibu Sunday afternoon. Tip off is scheduled for 2 p.m. and tickets can be purchased
here. 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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