The Lady Waves finished their first round of West Coast Conference play with a victory over University of San Diego last Saturday 61-49.
Pepperdine (13-8 4-3) currently sits in a three-way tie with fellow WCC opponents San Diego and University of Portland— all with 4-3 conference records.
Saturday’s game began with a six-point head start for the Waves but the Toreros were not intimidated by the visiting squad.
At the half the Lady Toreros led by the slimmest of margins 23-22.
Pepperdine’s head coach Julie Rousseau said her Waves had a great offensive performance.
“We attacked and we were aggressive Rousseau said. When we play like that good things happen. When we play passively we struggle. We took good care of the ball offensively.”
Dominique Conners a San Diego guard scored 26 points against Pepperdine more than half of her teams’ total points by the end of the game.
“Their point guard is pretty special and their guards attacked us well.” Rousseau said. “We had more stops and it worked in our favor.”
After halftime the Lady Waves took the lead 31-29 and would continue to build on it. The Toreros were not able to re-capture the lead the rest of the game.
“We got back to the energy we normally play with Rousseau said. The kids played hard and deep into our rotation; good focus in terms of bringing more intensity.”
Pepperdine’s offense was led by sophomore guard Jazmine Jackson and senior center Miranda Ayim who both scored in double figures. Jackson sunk 14 points and Ayim followed up with 12 points.
Both Pepperdine and San Diego had low shooting percentages Saturday Pepperdine sinking 31.7 percent and San Diego sinking 34.5 percent. The Lady Waves kept a tight defense forcing 23 San Diego turnovers.
With a victory to end the first half of conference play the Lady Waves now focus on their upcoming game against long-time rival Loyola Marymount.
“LMU is going to play extremely hard Rousseau said. They are going to come in with a lot of energy [and] they are excited about playing us.”
Rousseau said LMU will be a different team this time around— the Lions did not have their starting point guard when Pepperdine defeated them earlier in the season.
“We expect to see a much better team than the first time Rousseau said. Their last games have been close. They are more focused and they are a team that is very hungry. We will have to play our very best.”
Last year the Lions and the Waves split victories with both teams winning on its own home court. Rousseau expects an aggressive game.
“They came back with fire in their eyes when we went back to their home court she said. These kids have played against each other for years and they just want to win.”
Pepperdine travels to Gersten Pavilion at LMU to take on the Lions at 5 p.m. Saturday Feb. 6. The winner will be awarded points in the PCH Cup Challenge an all-sport competition between local rivals.
