TAYLOR BIRD
Sports Assistant
Senior guard Daphanie Kennedy led as the Pepperdine women’s basketball team opened the 2007/2008 campaign strong, earning a 70-38 home victory over Cal State Northridge in the season opener at Firestone Fieldhouse.
Kennedy shot 9-of-22 from the field to tally 22 points and 10 rebounds. She also added three assists and two steals while shooting a perfect 3-3 from the foul line.
The Waves (1-0) took advantage of a struggling Matador defense early to open up a 31-10 lead with 5:15 left in the first half.
Northridge would creep a bit closer to make the score 37-19 at halftime.
Pepperdine began the second half with a 16-4 scoring run and put the game away with just over seven minutes remaining in the game, courtesy of a three-pointer by freshman guard Katie Menton that increased the Waves’ lead to 64-27.
Junior forward Alisha Bryant added three two-pointers in the final seven minutes for the final score of 70-38.
“It’s always good to start the season off with a win,” said Waves’ Head Coach Julie Rousseau. “It’s not the best start, but it’s a good start. We’re going in the right direction—that’s for sure.”
Among the other big contributors for the Waves were junior guard Jessica Ross with 11 points, four rebounds, and four steals. Bryant also finished up the game with 11 points, and senior forward/center Teiosha George had 8 points and 12 rebounds in the winning effort.
“I think the first game says a lot about us,” George said. “We played really hard. We had a couple turnovers, but I think we picked it up. Our bench came in and did a good job. We just played together as a team.”
Up next for Pepperdine is an away match Sunday at Iowa State. The game begins at 11 a.m. and can be viewed online via Wave Casts at www.pepperdinesports.com.
11-09-2007
