Photos courtesy of Milan Loiacono
Sophomore forward Yasmine Robinson-Bacote scored 14 points and senior guard Allie Green added 11 to help Pepperdine women’s basketball defeat San Diego 57-40 at Firestone Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon.
Robinson-Bacote, who recorded her 10th double-double of the season, led the charge with 14 points and 14 rebounds to make her the ninth Wave and first since 2001 to record 10 double-doubles in a single season.
Head Coach Ryan Weisenberg had high praise for Robinson-Bacote’s stellar play this season.
“[Yasmine] has really blossomed into our biggest leaders this year, both on and off the court based on how she plays and readies herself every day,” Weisenberg said. “She continues to put her mark upon the team with her aggressive play and it’s contagious; when she’s focused, she’s a force to be reckoned with.”
For the Waves, it was a wire-to-wire victory as a blazing hot offense helped Pepperdine jump out to an early nine-point lead, 14-9 in the first quarter before entering halftime with a 26-19 lead. Pepperdine continued to shut down the Toreros’s offense to 16 percent shooting in the second half while stretching the lead to as much as 21, 57-36, en route to a dominating 57-40 win at home.
“It was really important for us to start off this homestand with a win,” Green said. “Everyone looked sharp on both sides of the ball and we hope we can keep our strong play rolling to finish the season off strong.”
Despite giving up 20 offensive rebounds, Pepperdine outrebounded San Diego 48-41 with a 35-21 advantage on the defensive rebounds to win the battle of the boards. The Waves also had the upper hand in blocks with eight compared to the Toreros’s two.
“It was important to attack the boards early and often and it helped us get more opportunities on the offensive end,” Robinson-Bacote said. “It goes to show how locked in our defense was in forcing the long ball and shutting them out of the paint.”
With the win, the Waves improved to 7-18 overall and 5-9 in West Coast Conference play. Pepperdine also completed the season sweep of San Diego for the first since 2011.
Up next, Pepperdine will continue their three-game home stand with a matchup against Santa Clara on Thursday Feb. 16th at 7 p.m. before hosting rival LMU on Saturday at 1 p.m.
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Follow Arthur Puu on Twitter: @arthurpuu
