NOAH GODWIN
Assistant Sports Editor
Courtesy of Ben Young/Ph.Ed.
With eight conference games remaining on the season, the Pepperdine women’s basketball team is in an unfamiliar position: the middle of the pack in the West Coast Conference.
But a win at Loyola Marymount University Saturday at 4:30 p.m. could propel the Waves to second place, which is the coveted position for the WCC Tournament behind Gonzaga University. The Zags are undefeated in conference play and at 17-2 overall have virtually locked up a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Pepperdine has made postseason appearances the past six seasons, with three NCAA and three WNIT appearances.
“We’re still focused on making it to the postseason, but that’s only going to happen if we play absolutely as well as we can the rest of the season,” senior guard Syreeta Stafford said.
With a 7-12 record though, that streak is in jeopardy. Only teams with winning percentages of at least .500 are eligible for postseason play, with the exception of teams winning their conference tournaments.
Part of the problem this season has been the Waves’ uncharacteristic struggles at Firestone Fieldhouse.
Pepperdine is 3-5 at home this season with five games remaining, and the Waves have not had a losing home record since the 1988-89 season. In the 29-year history of the program, Pepperdine has only suffered four seasons with losing home records.
The Waves will play five of the last eight games at home before heading to Santa Clara University for the WCC Tournament.
The Waves have persevered through several injuries this season that have forced the team to dress only eight players on some occasions.
“We’ve had some bad luck, but we don’t make any excuses for anything because every team has to deal with injuries,” freshman guard Daphanie Kennedy said.
The team has been buoyed by the play of senior forward Jennifer Lacy, who was just named the WCC Player of the Week for the third time this season.
Lacy captured the honor after leading the Waves with 21 and 27 points against Saint Mary’s College and Santa Clara last week.
She now has scored at least 20 points in eight games this season, which leads the WCC.
She shot 10-15 from the floor and had 11 rebounds against the Broncos in leading the Waves to an 80-65 victory at Santa Clara.
Lacy is also tied for the conference lead with seven double-doubles on the season.
“Lacy’s been our go-to-player all year, and she keeps having great games no matter how much we rely on her,” Stafford said.
Pepperdine raced to a 10-0 lead to start the game, and when the Broncos pulled within one at 21-20 in the first half, the Waves responded with another 10-0 run.
Santa Clara refused to go quietly and cut the gap to four in the second half, but Pepperdine used Lacy’s performance to polish off Santa Clara.
Kennedy also put up big numbers for the Waves, scoring 24 points on 11-18 shooting.
Michelle Cozad was the only player to score in double figures for the Broncos, scoring 24 points.
Lacy’s 21 points at Saint Mary’s was not enough to carry Pepperdine in the 74-64 this past Thursday.
The turning point in the game came with ten minutes left in the second half with the Waves leading 49-45 following a three-pointer from Kennedy and a layup by Lacy.
The Gael’s rolled off 11 straight points and never looked back.
“All of our focus right now is on LMU, but we know going to their place and winning won’t be easy,” Kennedy said.
01-27-2005
