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DAVID TESIC/Assistant Photo EditorThe Pepperdine women’s basketball team split the first two contests of a three game homestand, besting Saint Mary’s 80-67 on Thursday, Jan. 17 to end its eight-game losing streak before falling 71-66 to Santa Clara on Saturday.
Thursday’s game was the first at home for the Waves (6-11, 1-3 WCC) since Dec. 7, when they recorded a 68-64 victory over Cal State Fullerton.
Pepperdine’s offense got off to a sluggish start against Saint Mary’s, shooting just 28.6 percent from the floor in the first half. Senior guard Daphanie Kennedy and sophomore forward Miranda Ayim were held to a collective two points, and the Gaels led 29-19 at halftime.
After the break, the Waves’ offensive attack found its rhythm, shooting 65.8 percent from the field in the second period to tally 61 total points, including 20 from Kennedy. The Gaels could not keep up, and despite shooting a second half 42.9 percent, would lose the game by an 80-67 score.
“It took us a little while to get into it. [but] it’s so nice to be home in a comfortable environment,” said Pepperdine junior guard Jessica Ross. “I think after losing eight games in a row we had a little more fight in us.”
Kennedy had a game-high 22 points and added 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 4 assists. Senior center Teiosha George contributed 18 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season, while freshman guard Katie Menton pitched in another 18 points.
On Saturday, the Waves opened up a 20-12 lead with 7:53 remaining in the first half after an 8-0 scoring run was followed by a pair of free throws from sophomore forward Taylor Snider. Santa Clara (13-4, 2-1 WCC) answered with a seven-point rally shortly afterward to tie up the score at 23-23.
George’s layup with less than a minute left in the half put Pepperdine ahead 31-27, but Broncos’ center Jen Gottschalk responded with a layup of her own to push the score to 31-29 when the buzzer sounded.
The score remained close for most of the second period. With 1:56 left in the game, Santa Clara took a 64-59 lead, courtesy of back-to-back three-pointers from forward Elizabeth Doran and guard Chandice Cronk.
Kennedy then hit a three-pointer to bring the Waves within two points at 64-62. But a batch of free throws by Santa Clara in the final minute-and-a-half increased the Bronco lead, and the Waves were unable to catch up, losing the game by a 71-66 deficit.
“Santa Clara is a good team, but they’re beatable,” Ross said. “Unfortunately we turned the ball over too much … It was a good effort — it just didn’t go our way.”
For the second game in a row, Kennedy was the team’s top scorer with 22 total points. Ayim finished second in team scoring, supplying 14 points and two rebounds. George added 10 points and five rebounds.
“We’re really close to turning things around and being consistent,” said head coach Julie Rousseau. “I think we lost the game on the defensive end and not the offensive end.”
The Waves outshot the Broncos from the field, 42.4 percent to 37.7 percent, but committed 22 turnovers that resulted in 18 Santa Clara points.
“Our turnovers have been pretty high,” Ross said. “It’s really hurting us offensively.”
Rousseau agreed: “If we can cut down on our turnovers and still continue to move the ball around, I think we definitely give ourselves a shot at winning.”
Foul trouble was also a factor in the loss, as the Broncos were awarded 19 free throw opportunities compared to the Waves’ 10.
Pepperdine will wrap up its three-game homestand Saturday, when it hosts conference rival Loyola Marymount (10-9, 2-2 WCC) for a 4:30 p.m. match-up at Firestone Fieldhouse.
Submitted 01-24-2008
MALIBU, CA
