DAVID NAKAGAMI
Sports Assistant
Pepperdine’s women’s basketball team started the season with a bang, winning six of their first eight contests. In the past 11 games, however, the Waves slipped, suffering losses in nine of those games. Pepperdine looked to cut short their three-game conference losing streak when they visited Loyola Marymount on Saturday.
While beginning the game exchanging baskets, by the 18-minute mark in the first half, the Lady Lions took control of the game. LMU racked up 20 points in almost 10 minutes, all while keeping Pepperdine scoreless. Before the Waves realized, the half was over and the score stood 33-13 in favor of the Lions.
The Lady Waves mounted a valiant comeback in the second half, closing the score to within 15 points while outscoring LMU 22-19. However, the 20-point halftime buffer proved too much to surmount, as the rival Lions sent the Waves crashing to their fourth consecutive loss with a final score of 52-35.
Freshman forward/center Teena Wickett powered the Waves attack with a double-double, putting up 12 points (5-10 FG) and pulling down 13 rebounds. Guard Nakeya Isabell added 9 points, 3 boards and 4 assists in the losing effort. Lions’ guard Amanda Patton led all scorers with 17 points, going 3-8 from behind the arc, and dishing out five assists.
“There was a lot that goes into why we played poorly,” Head Coach Julie Rousseau frankly. “Injuries have forced us to change our starting lineup. We played good defense – giving up 52 points shows that. We just didn’t score.”
The telling statistic of the night was 21.4 percent, the Waves’ field goal percentage in the first half (5-28). This number includes Pepperdine went from 3-point range 0-6 in the first 20 minutes of the game. Poor first half shooting played a large part in dropping the Waves to 1-4 in the West Coast Conference, 8-12 overall.
“The game is about rhythm and consistency,” Rousseau said. “With all of our injuries, we were just out of sync.”
The Waves look to remedy the problem in time for their upcoming game against a tough Santa Clara team tonight. Pepperdine has several sidelined contributors on the mend, projected to return to the court this week.
When asked what a win over Santa Clara would mean to the team, Rousseau responded: “It would mean a lot, honestly. We’re still trying to fight our way back.”
A key to that critical victory that Piousseau pointed out was patience on defense, especially in transition, when the Broncos are known to pull out for the trey.
She pointed out an even more important ingredient to a potential Waves triumph.
“We need our fans to come out and support us as much as possible,” the third-year head coach said. “The fans’ encouragement will help get us out of our rut.”
The Waves will host Santa Clara tonight at 7 p.m.
01-25-2007
