MALIBU, Calif. – The Pacific women's basketball team (12-9, 5-5 WCC) fought at the end of the first half to catch up and tie it at the break, but the Tigers weren't able to pull ahead of Pepperdine (10-10, 4-6 WCC) in a 59-54 loss Thursday night inside Firestone Fieldhouse on the campus of Pepperdine University.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
First Half
- Pacific struggled to find its defensive touch early as Pepperdine shot 8 of 11 to start the contest on their way to a 16-8 lead at the 3:23 mark of the first quarter. The Tigers did however hold Pepperdine scoreless from downtown near the end the first quarter.
- Brooklyn McDavid went on a stretch of making three of her last four field goals in the second quarter to cut Pepperdine's lead to 24-20. McDavid's run pulled Pacific ahead of the Waves in points in the paint with the Tigers holding a 14-10 advantage, eventually making it 22-14 to the Orange and Black at halftime.
- Pacific as a team followed McDavid's lead, converting on three of four field goals to pull to within 26-23 at the media break with 4:03 remaining until halftime. The Tigers went on a 9-2 run over 5:59 led by four points from McDavid, then punched back following a Pepperdine basket with Loretta Kakala finding her way inside for a successful three-point play.
- Kakala and company clawed back even further, managing to tie the contest at 30 apiece heading into the halftime break despite shooting just 1 of 5 to close out the half.
Second Half
- Kaylin Randhawa caught fire offensively out of halftime, converting on four of five field goals to cut the Pepperdine lead to 37-34. Randhawa's bucket at 6:18 of the third quarter gave her a double-figure scoring night for the fourth time this season and third time in West Coast Conference play.
- McDavid's offensive board a little over a minute into the second half gave her 222 for her career, moving her past Kate McAllister for fourth all-time in program history.
- Lianna Tillman hit the runner at the end of the third quarter to tie things up at 43 heading into the fourth, starting a 6-0 run that included Savannah Whitehead getting her own rebound in the opening minute of the quarter to give Pacific its first lead of the game.
- Kakala then added to the Tigers' offensive push, hitting a layup at the 5:58 point of the fourth quarter to enter double figures scoring for the second time in three games.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
- Josephine Millard tied a season high with six rebounds against the Waves, including five on the defensive glass.
- Kakala reached double figures scoring for the second time in three games, finishing Saturday night with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
- The Tigers had three players scoring in double figures, but it was Kaylin Randhawa taking home City of Stockton Human Resources Hardworking Player of the Game honors with a team-high 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including a 5-of-6 clip from the free throw line.
UP NEXT:
- Pacific finishes up its three-game road swing half an hour down the Pacific Coast Highway on Saturday with a 12:00 p.m. tipoff at LMU. Don Gubbins will have the audio call from Gersten Pavilion on Pacific All-Access and fans can view the action on the WCC Network.
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