Pepperdine (13-11 6-4) held true to its pattern this season winning two this weekend after two tough losses on the road Thursday and Friday.
The Waves had an exhilarating 59-49-comeback victory against Santa Clara (2-23 0-10) Thursday Feb. 12. They notched another triumph Saturday against San Diego (14-11 5-6) winning again by a 10-point margin 66-56 with three Pepperdine players reaching double-digit points.
“All the players are playing really well said Head Coach Julie Rousseau. Miranda [Ayim] has been great for us all year long and is really getting back to her true form. Everyone is playing with new energy and new life.”
When playing Santa Clara currently in last place in West Coast Conference freshman guard Jazmine Jackson recorded her second career-high game scoring 23 points on 70 percent shooting grabbing six rebounds and snatching three steals. Jackson scored 13 points in the second half nearly half of the team’s 27.
Despite being down nine points at halftime the Waves started and finished the game strong. Also they statistically outplayed the Broncos in basically every aspect of the game.
They shot 36 percent on field goals which is 3 percent higher than their season average of 33 percent and had 14 steals compared to only five by Santa Clara. This has almost come to be expected by Waves fans as the women are currently ranked 6th in the nation in steals.
Whenever the Waves start off the game strong they are able to pull off a win. And the Waves demonstrated this by going up 11-7 in the first 4:40 against Santa Clara. Despite the 11-2 scoring run the Broncos answered with putting the Waves down by nine at halftime Pepperdine remained persistent.
Senior guard Jessica Ross contributed with her usual outstanding shooting from behind the arc and junior center Miranda Ayim added six points to the Waves 18-2 scoring run at the end of the game. This allowed the Waves to pull through with a comeback victory.
The Waves also kept their turnovers to a minimum giving away only 10 opportunities compared to Santa Clara’s 12.The lady Waves did not lose the momentum Saturday afternoon against San Diego winning 66-56 over the Toreros.
Ayim led the team with 17 points seven rebounds and two steals but she was not the only one to contribute with two other Waves scoring in double digits. Freshman center Alex Jarrell followed close behind her older counterpart scoring 12 points and grabbing six rebounds. Senior guard Nakeya Isabell was possibly the most versatile player of the game and scored 11 points while adding five rebounds four steals and four assists.
“We have a deep bench and everyone is able to contribute which when you think about it is kind of a unique thing in our conference said Ayim in reference to the team’s resourcefulness.
Pepperdine’s stats were even more impressive against San Diego, shooting an even more impressive 38 percent from the field and forcing 13 steals with a defense that Pepperdine players are proud of.
At the beginning of the season it was one of our goals to play better defense and in these games we stepped up the defense and started pressuring full court Ayim said.
The first half was closely contested, with the Waves never gaining more than a four-point lead against the Toreros. The lead changed nine times before the Waves started a 13-8 scoring run that sent Pepperdine into the locker room at halftime with a 32-27 lead.
San Diego brought it back to a tie at the start of the second half with back-to-back jumpers, but Ayim sparked the team again, starting a 22-6 scoring run, which ended with the Waves up by 16 points, 56-40. An 11-2 scoring run for the Toreros brought the game a little bit closer, but the teams simply traded baskets until the buzzer sounded, sealing a 66-56 for the Waves.
The Waves are back at home again tonight at 7 p.m. against Portland. The game will be televised on CBS College Sports and is Pepperdine’s WBCA Pink Zone game to raise breast cancer awareness. Pink crocs will be given to the first 150 students and pink rally towels will be given to the first 250 fans. The Waves will follow with a game against Gonzaga Saturday at 2 p.m. at Firestone Fieldhouse.