With a weekend sweep of Portland and Gonzaga, the Waves moved into sole possession of first place in the WCC.
By Erica Sigman
Sports Editor
The loss the Pepperdine women’s basketball team suffered Jan. 31 in San Francisco proved to be the fuel needed to keep the fire going.
The team showed no mercy on the road this past weekend, defeating Gonzaga 66-60 Saturday after slaughtering Portland the previous Thursday.
The wins helped Pepperdine improve their overall record to 16-6 and a solid 8-1 in WCC while also putting them as the No. 1 seed in WCC standings.
The University of San Diego assisted the Waves advance to the No. 1 slot by defeating Santa Clara 80-77 the same night. Pepperdine is now half a game ahead of Santa Clara in WCC standings.
The Waves were lead to victory by senior forward Keani Christianson and junior forward Nicole Funn, both putting up 16 points against Gonzaga at Martin Centre Saturday night.
At the conclusion of the first half, the Waves lead the Bulldogs 37-29 and continued to dominate by leading by as much as 18 points in the first seven minutes of second half play.
The Bulldogs put up a great fight in the second half, only to be shut down. Gonzaga outscored Pepperdine for the remainder of the half and brought the Waves lead down to two points with 33 seconds remaining.
“We lost our focus and gave them the momentum,” Funn said.
The coaching staff agrees.
“We were lucky to get out with the win,” Head Coach Mark Trakh said.
Assistant Coach Jody Wynn gave similar comments.
“Our intensity slipped,” she said. “We’ve been tough enough to pull it off down the stretch, but we’ve been playing on thin ice.”
Nevertheless, the determination of the Waves prevailed as they scored six unanswered points to seal the deal.
Overall, the Bulldogs outscored Pepperdine percentage-wise, shooting for 40.4 percent and holding the Waves to 38.2 percent.
However, the Waves pulled through in other aspects of the game. Pepperdine controlled the boards by out-rebounding Gonzaga 38-37 while forcing 18 turnovers.
The Waves also held the advantage at the foul line, converting 21 of 30 free throws while the Bulldogs only made 15 of 29 attempts.
It was apparent that the Waves’ defense was not up to par in the contest against Gonzaga.
“On film, it was apparent that we’ve been slacking on defensive pressure,” Wynn said. “We need to get back the intensity to defend our championship.”
Despite the good fight put up by Gonzaga, the Waves were determined to show that they deserve to be No. 1 in the WCC.
The Waves kicked off their road trip by defeating Portland 77-60 on Thursday night at the Chiles Center.
Funn, freshman forward Kelsey Ball and senior guard Tamara McDonald all contributed points in the double digits to secure the win.
Funn dominated the scoreboard for the Waves by scoring 17 points as well as adding 12 rebounds for a double-double.
“Funn stepped up with a monster game,” Wynn said. “She’s getting in a rhythm and playing like we knew she could.”
Funn was co-WCC Player of the Week.
“We’ve realized that we have to bring everything to the table,” Funn said.
Ball contributed a career-high 13 points and McDonald brought in 11 points while also meeting her personal-best of eight boards.
Once again, Pepperdine dominated by out-rebounding Portland 50-26. The Waves also played solid offense by shooting for 46.3 percent and allowing the Pilots to convert only 36.1 percent of their shots.
“I thought we played well,” Trakh said. “It was good to win two games on the road.”
Trakh’s team agrees.
“This road trip showed that we were able to bounce back from a big upset,” sophomore guard Shanell Law said. “Now we have a chance to clench the conference title.”
With the obstacle of playing tough games on the road this past weekend out of the way, the Waves have to keep the momentum going for this upcoming weekend at home.
The Waves’ have been specially preparing for this weekend by focusing on defense.
“We had a strictly defensive practice on Tuesday,” Law said. “We’re not taking this weekend lightly at all.”
Funn anticipates success for the remainder of the season.
“I’m looking forward to keeping my team on top,” Funn said.
Pepperdine will jump start the weekend by playing San Diego Friday at the Firestone Fieldhouse and then continue with a huge match-up against the No. 2 seeded Santa Clara Broncos Saturday.
“These games are big,” Wynn said. “Every game is big when you have a one game lead.”
While Wynn speaks of the upcoming weekend with an anxious tone, Law was calm and collective while talking about this weekend as well as the rest of the season.
“We’re going to have to take it one game at a time,” Law said.
February 13, 2003