Women's Basketball WCC Columnist Jeff Faraudo

Pepperdine Comes Back To Beat Santa Clara, 63-60

LAS VEGAS — Pepperdine has been down before so a 14-point deficit in the third quarter didn’t discourage the Waves in their opening game of the University Credit Union West Coast Conference Basketball Tournament on Thursday at Orleans Arena.

The ninth-seeded Waves (11-18) rallied past Santa Clara 63-60 and will play in Friday’s second-round game at noon against No. 5 BYU (14-15). Pepperdine has won three games in a row after winning just twice in its previous 15 games.

“It's definitely exciting. We’re finally clicking,” said guard Marly Walls, who scored 17 points and seven assists.

“Sometimes we kind of get on islands when we get down,” added Theresa Grace Mbanefo, who contributed 10 points and eight rebounds. “In our huddles our mindset was to come together. We found open shooters.”

One those was Jane Nwaba, who scored nine of her 17 points in the fourth quarter, including a jumper that pulled Pepperdine within 59-58 with 1:09 left.

“We had it the whole game then No. 10 got us in the fourth quarter,” said Santa Clara freshman Tess Heal, the WCC Newcomer of the Year who scored 29 points. “Really disappointing.”

Heal made one of two free throws with 46 seconds left to push the Broncos (15-17) back into a two-point advantage. But Becky Obinma gave Pepperdine the lead by converting a layup and free throw with 33 seconds left. Walls ice the win by making a pair of free throws with 9.6 seconds to play.

Pepperdine split its two games vs. BYU, winning 64-63 in overtime at Provo, Utah on Feb. 9 in their most recent meeting.

“That’s going to fuel out play (Friday),” said Mbanefo, adding that a priority will be trying to neutralize BYU forward Lauren Gustin, the nation’s leading rebounder. “That’s definitely going to be one of the biggest things in our game plan, knowing where she’s at.”

The Waves had a busy week even before arriving in Las Vegas. Fourth-year head coach Kristen Dowling stepped down on Tuesday, and assistant Brian Rosario was elevated to acting head coach. 

Rosario said trust between the coaches and players has allowed this late-season surge. “The biggest thing is we understand when you win games you get to stay. We’re playing the best ball at the end of the year.”

Santa Clara held the Waves to 19-percent shooting in the first half while forging a 30-19 lead. But the Waves hot 57 percent after halftime, including 9-for-14 in the fourth quarter.

Broncos coach Bill Carr called it a tale of two halves. “I thought we came out with great energy and played really well together,” he said. “We didn’t play poorly in the second half. They obviously played better. We battled. Sometimes you get beat.”

"I’ve been at Santa Clara for five years — this is going to be a hard pill to swallow,” guard Lexie Pritchard said.

Olivia Pollerd added 11 points for the Broncos and Lara Edmanson scored 10. 

Heal, the WCC’s third-leading scorer at 17.2 points entering the week, said her freshman experience as a newcomer from Melbourne, Australia, exceeded her expectations.

“It’s been an incredible year. I had so much fun. It was such an unknown coming over — I had no idea if I was going to be any good, if I was even going to get on the court,” she said. 

Heal said she is confident next season will be a better one for the Broncos “I’m super excited,” she said. “We have a lot of promise, we have a lot of potential. We didn’t fulfill it this year but we have a good chance next year.”