With some of its top scorers out with injury, Waves replacements are stepping up, and leading the team to victory.
By Hailey Amato
Staff Writer
Oh, the sweet smell of victory … again.
The Pepperdine women’s basketball squad remains undefeated in the West Coast Conference with victories over the University of San Diego and the University of Santa Clara.
Pepperdine defeated the Toreros 69-54 at the Jenny Craig Pavilion this past Saturday. The Waves improved their overall record to 12-5 and a perfect 4-0 in conference play. Pepperdine holds an impressive 10-2 record for the last 12 games.
Senior forward Keani Christianson contributed to the Waves’ victory against San Diego by scoring a career-high 18 points. Senior guard Tamara McDonald also achieved a career-high seven steals while adding 17 points to the scoreboard. Sophomore guard Shanell Law also finished in double figures, putting up 13 points.
“We went out there knowing they’d see the loss of Shandrika Lee and Damaris Hinojosa as a weakness,” Law said. “This made us come together even more to show them we can still compete as a team.”
San Diego’s overall record dropped to 7-9 and 1-2 in WCC play.
“Overall, we outplayed them,” McDonald said. “Our team is the most hated team in conference. Everyone wants to beat us, everyone wants to knock us off. We use that as motivation.”
Pepperdine shot 41.9 percent from the field and held San Diego to a mere 32.7 percent.
“Defense was the key to the game and will be the key to this season,” Assistant Coach Derek Wynn said. “We hope it will be what separates us from the pack.”
The Waves jump-started their winning streak on the road with a 71-65 defeat over the Santa Clara Broncos. McDonald led the team in scoring, putting up 17 points at the Leavey Center Thursday.
Junior forward Nicole Funn assisted the Waves to victory with a double-double, scoring 12 points and earning 11 rebounds. Christianson added 11 points and grabbed nine boards, helping Pepperdine advance in the WCC.
“We need to keep getting the ball inside,” Wynn said. “Christianson is an inside presence that we didn’t have at the beginning of the year.”
The Waves dominated the first half leading 41-22 and shooting 50 percent.
“I felt like we came out executing our game plan,” Wynn said. “We defended their sets and offensively took good shots.”
The players agree that they played a solid first 20 minutes of basketball.
“We played really well … for a half,” sophomore forward Jennifer Lacy said.
However, the Broncos put up quite a fight in the second half, outscoring Pepperdine 43-30, shooting 56 percent from the field and holding the Waves to just 31.4 percent.
“I think we got lackadaisical and turned the ball over too much,” Wynn said. “We got just a little too comfortable, but we came on tough down the home stretch and withstood their run.”
Santa Clara getting points in the paint and defensive lapses on Pepperdine’s part were factors in the second half of play, Law said.
Pepperdine held off the attacking Santa Clara team by forcing 25 turnovers and taking control of the boards with a 41-32 rebounding advantage.
Pepperdine continued to be victorious even without junior guard Lee, their No. 1 scorer and senior guard Hinojosa who is out with a broken toe.
Lee is sidelined for the remainder of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and Hinojosa is expected to return in three to six weeks.
The Waves will continue WCC play Saturday at 5:15 p.m. tipping off against the Loyola Marymount Lions at the Gersten Pavilion.
“Being 4-0 feels good, but it’s not enough,” McDonald said. “It’s a good start, but it’s not the end.”
January 23, 2003