Thursday night’s game between the Santa Clara Broncos and the Pepperdine Waves was a great matchup of skill. Santa Clara started off strong with an unanswered eight-point lead. The Waves had a slow start, but quickly caught up with Santa Clara’s pace. Twelve minutes in, Tessa Emerson brought Pepperdine within two points of Santa Clara, and the first half ended with a score of 21-15, Santa Clara in the lead.
Pepperdine began the second half on a 7-0 run sparked by a three-pointer from Shay Cooney-Williams, which put Pepperdine in the lead for the first time in the game. Santa Clara responded with another scoring run of their own, retaking the lead. With 6:22 left in the half, Shay Cooney-Williams and Ea Shoushtari scored back-to-back three-pointers, boosting the team’s morale.
Tessa Emerson made a crucial layup to bring the Waves within one point of Santa Clara with 44 seconds left in the game. But with only a few seconds left, Santa Clara’s Meagan Fulps secured a rebound and was fouled on a layup by Tessa Emerson, after which she made the first free-throw. Santa Clara was then ahead two points with two seconds left, and the Waves’ Shoushtari had just enough time to attempt one last three-point heave from midcourt. The shot was no good off the rim, and Santa Clara beat Pepperdine 38-36.