AYSO U-14 boys and girls teams place well in sectionals
The AYSO U-14 boys and girls teams placed third in the Section 10 playoffs in Bakersfield over the weekend.
The playoffs included the top 16 teams from each age group.
Pepperdine women’s basketball wins conference
The Pepperdine University women’s basketball team clinched a berth in the NCAA Tournament Sunday with a 71-67 upset victory over top-seeded Santa Clara in the West Coast Conference championship game.
The game, which was played at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash. went down to the wire with Pepperdine sophomore guard Daphanie Kennedy scoring a layup basket with nine seconds remaining to break a 67-67 tie. Kennedy later sank two free throws to seal the victory.
The Waves’ (14-16) tournament win followed a disappointing regular season in which the team started 1-6 and entered the post-season five games below the .500 mark.
“I remember certain times of the season where I saw growth. And I kept clinging onto and holding onto the fact that I knew there was a lot of room for growth,” Pepperdine coach Julie Rousseau told the Associated Press. “And we saw the growth happen from week to week. I knew that we would continue to improve because that’s the type of young women they are.”
Kennedy was named Tournament MVP. She scored 47 points in three games, including 12 in the championship. Junior center Jasmane Clarendon was also named to the all-Tournament first team. She had 40 points in the tournament, including a team-high 15 in the championship.
The Waves made it to the championship following an opening-round 70-58 victory over St. Mary’s and a 59-58 win against Loyola Marymount.
Pepperdine will head to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003. That year the Waves fell to Louisiana Tech, 92-60, in the first round as a No. 12 seed.
Because of their sub-.500 record, the Waves will likely be seeded 16th in the tournament and face a top-ranked opponent in the opening round.
The NCAA will announce the tournament schedule on Monday.
Pepperdine men’s basketball ends season with loss
The Pepperdine University men’s basketball team fell to San Diego, 85-72, on Friday in the first round of the West Coast Conference Tournament. The loss ended the season for the Waves, who finished with a 7-20 record, the team’s worst performance since it went 6-21 in 1996-97.
Senior Tashaan Forehan led the Waves in scoring with 21 points. Freshman Chris Oakes scored a career-high 18 points.
-Carley Dryden and Jonathan Friedman