BILL SCHINDLER
Staff Writer
Last Saturday the Waves did two things they hadn’t done all season. That is win two games in a row and win without their star player.
The team, which was playing in its seventh road game in the last nine outings, closed out the month of January with a bang.
In the most competitive game they have played all season, the Waves (8-12, 4-3 WCC) knocked off Loyola Marymount (10-10, 4-3 WCC) 60-56 at Gersten Pavilion.
The win marked the first winning streak of the year for the Waves; also, the team had its first winning month going 4-3.
That mark, which is their conference record, has moved the team into a spirited fight for second place in the conference with rivals Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount.
Absent Saturday night was senior star Jennifer Lacy, who did not play due to an undisclosed medical reason but should return to the lineup soon, according to Head Coach Julie Rousseau.
The forward is currently averaging a league-best 19.3 points a game in WCC action.
Without Lacy, the Waves had to look to others on the roster to do the heavy lifting on Saturday. In the first half, senior guard Syreeta Stafford answered the bell scoring 16 of her career high 22 points in the first half alone.
It also marked Stafford’s first 20-plus point effort of her career.
In the second half of play, two freshmen became the impact players.
Daphanie Kennedy knocked down a bucket at the 12:10 mark of the second half to pull the Waves even with the Lions at 41. The basket came in the middle of a 10-2 run by Pepperdine that would prove decisive for the Waves, as they took the final of eight lead changes.
The game finally came down to another freshman guard, Shannon Johnson. Johnson toed the foul line with Pepperdine up by three and just over four seconds left on the timer. She gathered her composure and hit one of two attempts to ice the win for Pepperdine.
Free throw shooting was a strong point down the stretch for the Waves as they were 12-19 from the charity stripe in the second half. But none was bigger than the ones Pepperdine hit in the final 32 seconds to clinch the win.
“Winning back-to-back games to close out the first half of conference gives us a chance at a real good seed in the conference tournament,” said Rousseau. “Of course we can’t look past anybody and we need to take it one game at a time. We still have some things we need to work on, but I am proud of our effort tonight.”
If the Waves do look ahead, they will find a lot less trips to the airport on their itinerary. In February, Pepperdine will play five of their next seven games in Firestone Fieldhouse. The home stand will kickoff tonight against the University of San Francisco Dons at 7 p.m. After the Dons, the University of San Diego is next up Saturday at 2 p.m.
This article was contributed to by Michael Hawley.
02-03-2005