Waves women’s basketball drums LMU

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Marly Walls led Pepperdine in scoring against LMU. Photo by Emma Ammerman

The Pepperdine Waves women’s basketball team beat their PCH Cup rivals, the Loyola Marymount University Lions 68-48 on Jan. 21 in a West Coast Conference game at Firestone Fieldhouse. 

Guard Marly Walls, a graduate student, led Pepperdine with 23 points, which included swishing all three of her 3-point shots and nailing eight of nine free throws. Walls, who graduated from Bucknell University in 2022, also dished out seven assists and had a steal and a block. 

Forward Theresa Grace Mbanefo, a graduate student, who graduated from Cornell last spring, had 12 points on six-of-seven shooting. Junior forward Jane Nwaba tallied 8 points and hauled in nine rebounds. She also had four assists and one steal. 

The Waves scored 11 consecutive points to grab a 14-6 lead in the first quarter of the contest and never lost control of the game. Pepperdine had a 40-22 lead in the second quarter when freshman forward Drea Brumfield, who had six points,knocked down a three to give Pepperdine a 43-22 lead at halftime. 

Marly Walls vs LMU Photo by Emma Ammerman
Marly Walls vs LMU Photo by Emma Ammerman

The Lions scored the first points of the third quarter and then scored five straight after Walls scored. However, Pepperdine answered with a 5-0 run to increase their lead by 20 points. The Waves ended the quarter with a 57-36 lead after Walls swished two foul shots and Mbanefo hit a layup. 

LMU’s Cassandra Gordon scored seven consecutive points in the fourth quarter right before Pepperdine scored six straight to increase its lead to 22 points. The Lions hit a three in the final seconds to trim the margin on the scoreboard before the game ended. 

The Waves have a 7-12 record, including a 2-7 record in the WCC, heading into their game at Portland on Thursday. Pepperdine plays at Gonzaga on Saturday.