The women’s basketball team left the fans at Firestone Fieldhouse something to be excited about this upcoming season. In their season-opening exhibition game against Westmont on Oct. 31 the Waves cruised over the Warriors to secure a 72-61 victory and a 1-0 record.
“We had a lot of fun tonight and ended up having a great crowd. This is the first time all these people came to support us which was great said sophomore guard Lauren Bell.
According to head coach Julie Rousseau, this game was a strong start for the team. We knew Westmont would be tough. She said it was a great learning experience for us with some excellent competition that will help prepare us for our regular season.”
All members of the team saw playing time during the game which Bell said will help the talented underclassmen sharpen their skills.
“Our freshmen are great this year Bell said They create a presence on the court and show that they belong… here just like everybody else.”
And although the freshman made a great contribution junior guard Katie Menton thought that the seniors were remarkable.
“I thought our seniors did an excellent job leading us to the victory Menton said.
What seemed to be a close game at the start quickly turned into a Pepperdine-dominated contest. For the first 11 minutes of the game, the two teams stayed within three points of each other, but Menton’s shot from behind the arc with 9:11 remaining in the first sparked a 20-point scoring run for the Waves.
Menton felt that the team performed exceptionally well for their first game of the season.
It felt great to be out there playing again Menton said. I felt a little rusty but I just really enjoyed being out their with my teammates again. I look forward to Friday’s game to see how much we improve on everything.”
The halftime buzzer sounded with the Waves up 41-32. They continued to extend their lead at the start of the second when senior co-captain and center Miranda Ayim started the half off with back-to-back layups.
Both teams had trouble shooting in the second half. This allowed the Waves to solidify their lead although Westmont was able to partially close the 61-49 gap with occasional jump shots and free throws. The Warriors got within six at 66-60 with 2:26 left but layups by sophomore guards Skye Barnett and Bell widened the gap back up to 10.
When the horn sounded the final score was Waves 72- Westmont 61 .
The Waves started their season with some impressive stats. They scored 18 points off turnovers had 12 fast breaks points and shot 50 percent in the paint. They also shot 57 percent from the free-throw line.
Bell was the leading scorer with 12 points.
Next up the Waves host Cal State L.A. on Nov. 6 at 4 p.m. in their second exhibition game of the season.