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.
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.