Photo by Marisa Padilla
During winterbreak, the women’s basketball team could have been found shooting hoops and conditioning in Firestone Fieldhouse. Last weekend, the Waves were on the road to face Gonzaga University on Jan. 15 and University of Portland on Jan. 17 but were unfortunate enough to lose both games.
The Waves came off to a terrific start in the WCC opener on Dec. 29 with a thrilling home win against local rival LMU, coming from behind to clinch a 98-91 overtime victory. The win, however, was stalled by a series of six consecutive defeats to Saint Mary’s College, University of the Pacific, University of San Diego, Brigham Young University , Gonzaga University and University of Portland. In the conference, the Waves are in ninth place out of a total of 10 teams.
“We had two tough losses last week, but I think those really lit a fire under us to get revenge the next time we see those teams,” redshirt sophomore forward Krista Pettepier said. The Waves were shaken by the two home losses to University of San Diego and BYU early on Jan 8 and 10, respectively.
Prior to the WCC, the team achieved two consecutive wins against UC Santa Barbara and Northern Arizona University. On both occasions, the Waves triumphed on away grounds.
“Our team has made tremendous strides this year not only on the court, but also in the way we’ve grown as a family,” Pettepier said. “Our off-court chemistry has transferred well to the court, and we’ve come out with a couple huge wins.”
Over the course of the WCC, several players have stood out with their impressive performances.
Guard Bria Richardson currently has an average of 19.1 points per game in the WCC. The senior has scored 134 points in just 7 matches and is ranked fifth on the tournament’s individual scoring board. Furthermore, Richardson is ranked second on the individual score board in terms of steals — she has 19 steals in seven games.
Guard Allie Green has also maintained a solid performance throughout the WCC. The sophomore scored an impressive 30 points in the WCC starter against LMU, an all-time high in her college career. Both Green and Richardson scored 24 points each at Pepperdine’s away game at BYU and will be players to keep an eye out for the remainder of the competition.
Although the Waves have been playing in the WCC since December, their season started on Nov. 15 with an away loss to University of Nebraska. So far, Pepperdine has accumulated a total of 6 wins and 12 losses counting conference and non-conference games. With only one home win, the Waves have yet to reproduce their road success here in Malibu. Today, 22, the Waves will face the University of San Francisco at Firestone Fieldhouse for their next home game.
Following, the Waves will have another home game against Santa Clara University on Jan 24, also for the WCC.
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Follow Anthony Wells on Twitter: @anthonyawells
