TAYLOR BIRD
Sports Assistant
Road troubles continued to haunt the Pepperdine women’s basketball team as the Waves lost, 81-75, to San Francisco on Thursday before falling to San Diego, 83-72, on Saturday. The Waves (6-14, 1-6 WCC) have dropped 12 of their last 13 games, including 10 straight on the road.
Thursday, the Dons (13-8, 4-3 WCC) jumped out to an early 7-0 lead. They held on to their edge until about 15 minutes into the first half when senior guard Shannon Johnson knocked down a three to put Pepperdine on top, 24-22.
The Waves received another three-pointer, this time by junior guard/forward Taylor Smith, and the team went into halftime with a 33-28 advantage.
The score remained close well into the second half. Waves senior guard Daphanie Kennedy made a three-pointer that shaved a San Francisco lead down to one, 70-69. This was followed by a trey from Dons’ guard Shay Rollins that pushed the score to 73-69.
Pepperdine was still within four with less than a minute remaining in the game, but a series of free throws by San Francisco put the game out of reach, and the Dons sealed the victory, 81-75.
“We didn’t get stops when we needed to,” Waves Head Coach Julie Rousseau said. “We’re competing very well … we’re scoring and all that, but we need to be able to defend and get stops.”
Kennedy was first in team scoring with a game-high 26 points to go along with 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Smith finished the game with 14 total points and added 3 rebounds. Sophomore center Miranda Ayim pitched in 12 points and 7 rebounds.
Despite the loss, Pepperdine out-shot San Francisco from the field, 45.6 percent (31-68) to 44.6 percent (29-65), and committed just 12 turnovers compared to the Dons’ 14.
“We’re having a little trouble on defense,” said junior guard Jessica Ross. “That’s what it comes down to — getting stops when we need them. We’ve done a good job on taking care of the ball and now we need to focus on defense.”
Both teams struggled offensively to open Saturday’s game. Pepperdine freshman guard Katie Menton provided a three-pointer with 5:28 left in the first half just before forward Sam Child of San Diego (11-10, 2-5 WCC) knocked down a three of her own to give the Toreros a 29-28 lead.
Kennedy notched a field goal to give Pepperdine the edge, but Child responded with a field goal of her own to put her team ahead, 31-30. San Diego held on to its advantage and headed into halftime with a 41-39 lead.
San Diego came out of the gates strong in the second half, attacking for 11 points in the period’s first four minutes to widen its lead to nine points (52-43). When the lead reached 13 points, Johnson made a shot from behind the arc to bring Pepperdine within 10, at 63-53.
A three-pointer from Menton with 3:58 left to play pushed the score to 74-67 in favor of the Toreros. Kennedy’s trey with one minute showing on the clock narrowed the San Diego lead to seven, but San Diego capitalized on several free-throw opportunities in the final minute to win, 83-72.
“You can’t really give up [83] points expecting to win,” Ross said. “We played pretty well together, but it just comes down to defense.”
For the sixth game in a row, Kennedy was the Waves’ top-scorer. She shot 11-22 from the field to tally 29 total points, 2 assists and 1 steal. Menton and senior center Teiosha George both added 10 points.
The Waves return to Malibu tonight to face Portland (13-9, 3-4 WCC) for a 7 p.m. match-up at Firestone Fieldhouse. They then host Gonzaga (16-6, 7-0 WCC) on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Rousseau said she still believes the team has a chance to turn things around and hopes the members of the Pepperdine community will do their part by showing up at this weekend’s games.
“We never give up; it’s a team of resiliency,” she said. “We are getting tired of losing … I still think we can do it. I believe in this team, I know this team is talented, and they can get the job done. And that’s a positive.”
02-07-2008
