By Hailey Amato
Staff Writer
And so the streak continues. Saturday the Pepperdine women’s basketball team won in dramatic fashion 56-51 over rival Loyola Marymount in overtime, stripping the Lions of a Homecoming victory and crushing a 10-game home winning streak.
The win brings Pepperdine to 13-5 overall and 5-0 in West Coast Conference play.
The Waves rallied for the victory despite their poorest offensive outing of the season, finishing with a season-low 24.6 percent shooting percentage.
“We were lucky to get out of there with a win,” senior forward Anna Lembke said. “We didn’t play as well as we’re capable of.”
The Waves were only able to manage six field goals in the final 25 minutes of play.
“Our offense was not coming to us as quickly as it normally does,” freshman forward Kelsey Ball said. “We were looking to others to shoot, but what do you do when no one is making their shots?”
Pepperdine trailed going into the locker room at halftime, and didn’t regain a lead until junior guard Nicole Funn scored in overtime.
“We stuck together as a team,” Ball said. “We were down for the majority of the game, but we never gave up. No one had their best game at all, and yet we knew we’d pull off the win somehow and we did.”
They opened the second half by missing their first 15 field goal attempts.
“Once one or two of your main scorers are off, it’s hard to find your rhythm,” sophomore forward Kelli Spencer said. “We did maintain our composure even though it was probably the worst we’ve played all year.”
There were almost 10 minutes of play without the Waves getting on the board.
“We just got into a rut,” Wynn said. “We couldn’t score from the inside. LMU is a good defensive team with strong perimeter defense.”
Ball turned the tide for the Waves and got them back in the game, scoring with 10:27 remaining in the second half.
Luckily, the Lions were also having trouble finding the basket. They shot 20 percent in the second half.
“In our league, everyone wants to kill us when they play us,” freshman guard Alicia Komaki said. “LMU had a big crowd behind them, but it wasn’t enough to get us in the end.”
Senior Tamara McDonald led Pepperdine with 15 points, six during the overtime period. She was held scoreless until 7:55 in the second half. Two of her baskets were in the last 38 seconds of play, forcing the game into overtime.
“McDonald showed a lot of character last Saturday,” Wynn said. “She came back from what started as arguably the worst game of her career and finished playing as well as anyone could play down the stretch. To play that bad, and then come through at such a clutch moment, was amazing. She hit two huge threes for us. The kids look to her to step up and she definitely did.”
Funn added 13 points and eight rebounds to keep Pepperdine in the game.
“Funn gave us some good offense,” Wynn said. “In the second half she locked up their top scorer, and basically shut her down. We challenged the players at halftime, and she was one who stepped up to the challenge.”
According to coaches and players, the Waves’ defense has been a factor in games all season long.
“Our defense was not as good as it’s been,” Wynn said. “We had breakdowns mentally. Even though the statistics show we played great defense, we know we could do better and we will.”
However, the Waves did out- rebound the No. 1 rebounding team in the conference.
“Rebounding,” Wynn said. “That was big for us.”
So big, in fact, that it helped them clinch the victory.
“Our defense helped us get stops, get it close and tie the game up,” Spencer said. “Once they started fouling us, it was our game because we were going to make our free throws.”
McDonald was good for nine of 10 at the free throw line.
“The girls kept their poise down the stretch and that led to the victory,” Wynn said.
Friday host Pepperdine tips off against the University of San Francisco at 7. The Dons are currently 1-4 and resting at the bottom of the WCC ranks.
“It’s good to be back at home,” Wynn said. “It was great to get three road wins, but now we’re excited to show the fans here at Firestone Fieldhouse why we’re undefeated in conference.”
January 30, 2003