As Thanksgiving break came to a close, Pepperdine Women’s Basketball traveled to the Walter Pyramid on Dec. 1 to face California State University, Long Beach. The Waves and the Beach were neck and neck until the final quarter of play, but Pepperdine ultimately fell to Long Beach State in a 61-68 loss.
The Waves were on a three game win streak after consecutive victories over California Baptist, UC Riverside and CSUN, according to Pepperdine Athletics. The visitors were looking to extend their streak while handing Long Beach State their first loss at home on the season.
From the opening tip off, Pepperdine and Long Beach were battling at every minute. Although Megan Harkey, senior forward/center and Graphic sports staff writer, tipped the ball to start, the Beach got possession and began their attack.
The home team couldn’t capitalize on this drive, as senior guard Malia Mastora got the first points of the game on a driving layup in the paint. However, Long Beach responded with two tough baskets from senior guard Lovely Sonnier and graduate forward Rachel Loobie.
The first quarter went back and forth between the teams, and even with a 9-0 run from the Beach, Pepperdine only trailed 17-15 after 10 minutes of play.
The Waves took control of the second quarter. While Long Beach State traditionally plays a faster paced game focused on drives in the paint, Pepperdine was able to slow the attack and clog the paint with the presence of Harkey and senior forward Maggie Vick.
“Pepperdine has a certain style,” Long Beach Head Coach Amy Wright said. “It is slow, and they’re very disciplined in what they want to do offensively. So they were able to execute.”
While some Beach players still managed to rack up double–digit points, their traditional style of play seemed to be disrupted by this new defensive look. Long Beach dealt with some missed passes and nine turnovers while avoiding being stuffed in the paint.
“Obviously, 31 and 32, when they were in the game, they were sagging,” Wright said. “They were just clogging up the paint, and we hadn’t seen that yet this year.”
The second quarter also saw an offensive explosion from the Waves. Graduate guard Ella Brubaker got 11 points in these ten minutes, contributing to her game-high 20 points. The home team only managed to score 15 points, allowing Pepperdine to pull ahead 35-32 after the first half.
Although the Waves remained disciplined on offense, Long Beach State was able to get back to their game in the second half.
Long Beach went on a 6-0 run to start the third quarter with buckets from freshman forward Mykelle Richards and senior guard Savannah Tucker. Richards and Tucker were Long Beach State’s leading scorers with 15 points each.
The score remained close in the third quarter, as well. Pepperdine freshman guard Chloe Sotell came in hot off the bench, bringing some energy to the visiting team.
Sotell went on a 7-0 run to end the third quarter and put the Waves narrowly ahead 51-50. The freshman finished with a career-high 19 points, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
The final quarter proved to be the difference maker. Long Beach seemed to bring more energy in the fourth quarter pulling them away from Pepperdine.
“[There was] definitely a pace that we wanted to push on to Pepperdine, and we did that towards the end,” Richards said.
While clogging the paint worked defensively for the Waves, their weakness was in the rebound game. The Beach had 53 total rebounds compared to Pepperdine’s 36, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Long Beach scored 21 second-chance points off these rebounds compared to Pepperdine’s three. Brubaker led the Waves in rebounds with seven on the game, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Long Beach also outshot Pepperdine 81-60 throughout the game, according to Pepperdine Athletics. The home team ended up outscoring the visitors 18-10 in the final ten minutes, which allowed them to win the game in a 68-61 final score.
The Waves are now 5-3 on the year, with a 4-0 record at home. Pepperdine will close out non-conference play when they travel to New Mexico on Dec. 15. The Waves kick off WCC play Dec. 21 when they host Santa Clara University.
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