It was an easy 73-47 win for the Waves against the San Francisco Dons Thursday, Jan. 29, and the success continued for Pepperdine on Saturday, Jan. 31 as they defeated Santa Clara 51-48.
I thought our attack was balanced said Head Coach Julie Rousseau. It was great because everyone was able to get in the books.”
The game against San Francisco (5-15 1-5 WCC) marked a turning point for the Waves (11-10 4-3 WCC) this season. Pepperdine started the game as the dominant team for the first time all season.
The Waves who have shot an average of 29.2 percent from behind the three-point line this season combined an improved 33.3 three-point percentage with a developing fast break to keep themselves ahead of the Dons.
With 7 minutes left in the first half San Francisco brought the game within three but the Waves kept up the intensity they were searching for in past games and extended their lead to 34-26 at the half.
Strong ball pressure led to a steal for senior guard Nakeya Isabell who gave a look-away pass to junior center Miranda Ayim for the layup. Another immediate steal was finished with a three-pointer by senior forward Taylor Smith. This put the Waves up 43-32 their first double-digit lead of the game. Ayim believes that the team’s defense should remain a focus for the remainder of the season.
“Our defense is still what carries us through the game Ayim said. We want to be known as a defensive team.”
Ayim and the Waves spent the rest of the half dominating the paint outscoring the Dons 30-18 inside. Ayim was the teams’ leading scorer with 19 points.
The Waves coasted through the rest of the game racking up steals with their full court press and continuing to control the paint and the fast break. The Waves closed out the game over San Francisco up 73-47.
Rousseau said she feels the team needs to take advantage of their defensive ability.
“We are sixth in the nation in steals and with that kind of effort we need to get more out of our defense Rousseau said.
Saturday’s game against the Santa Clara Broncos (2-20- 0-7) was not as easy but still proved to be a success for Pepperdine. The Waves came out dominant again, starting the first half with an 8-0 scoring run. Defensively, the Waves kept the Broncos from scoring until 12:05 remaining in the first half. They also scored 17 points off of 14 Bronco turnovers.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Isabell put the Waves up by nine. Freshman guard Jazmine Jackson continued to improve the Waves’ three-point percentage with a shot from behind the arc with 6:17 left in the first half, starting a 10-2 scoring run. With 2:14 left on the clock, freshman guard Skye Barnett ended the run with a layup and the Waves on top, 25-13. The buzzer sounded at halftime with the Waves ahead by 10 at 25-15.
Pepperdine did not let down in the second half, with Ayim scoring a jump shot only 12 seconds into it. The Broncos were able to close the lead to seven, but were unable to take the lead as freshman center Alex Jarrell and Ayim both jump shots, and senior guard Jessica Ross followed with a three-pointer. This sent the Waves on a 9-3 scoring run and gave them a 40-29 lead with 12:07 remaining.
With 10 minutes left on the clock, the Broncos were able to make a comeback with an 11-0 scoring run. The Broncos then tied the game at 44-44 with a jump shot by Santa Clara’s Maggi Goldenberger, but the Waves wouldn’t let the Broncos pull ahead. A layup by Ayim and a jumper by Smith put the Waves back up by five with 2:26 left in the game.
A shot in the paint by Ayim and two free throws by Santa Clara brought the score to 51-48 with 1:40 remaining. But even Bronco timeouts, at both 14 seconds and three seconds left, were not enough for them to draw the lead. Ayim stole the ball at the buzzer with the Waves up by three points at 51-48. Ayim was very pleased with the team’s performance and their current standings in the conference.
[This weekend] was a good way to go out of the first half of conference play Ayim said. We are above .500 which was one of our goals this season.”
The Waves’ next game is against West Coast Conference rival Loyola Marymount at LMU on Feb. 7 at 4:30 p.m.