MALIBU – The UCSB women’s basketball team defeated Pepperdine 74-63 in non-conference action on Saturday night at Firestone Fieldhouse.
The Gauchos led by four after the first quarter, putting up 20 points to Pepperdine’s 16 in the first frame as junior center Ila Lane put away three shots and senior guard Megan Anderson knocked down two.
Pepperdine came back in the second quarter to lead 34-33 at the half and kept it close in the third, as the game headed into the final period with UCSB up by just three points with a 50-47 lead.
The Waves reclaimed the lead in the first two minutes, with layups on back-to-back possessions by Ally Stedman and Eve Braslis putting the hosts ahead 53-52.
Following layups by sophomore guard Alyssa Marin and Lane and a three-pointer from Anderson that put UCSB up six with under five minutes to play, Pepperdine returned the favor with three unanswered scoring possessions to trail by one.
That would be the closest that the Waves would come to the lead for the rest of the contest, as UCSB went on a 15-5 to close out the matchup.
Four players finished in double-digit scoring for the Gauchos, led by Anderson’s 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting and a 5-of-7 night from beyond the arc.
Lane recorded her first double-double of the season with 17 points and 15 rebounds.
Junior guard Johnni Gonzalez and Marin finished on 10 points apiece, with the former a crucial part of UCSB’s late-game performance by converting on eight of her 10 free throw opportunities.
Gonzalez also led all players in the game with eight assists and tied with the Waves’ Cheyenne Givens with four steals.
Senior guard Taylor Mole finished with a +17, highest among all Gauchos, after scoring nine points on two triples, a layup, and a free throw, and adding four rebounds.
The Gauchos head to Moraga for Thanksgiving weekend matchups against Cal Baptist and Saint Mary’s, scheduled to take place on Friday at noon and Saturday at 2 p.m., respectively.
Arthur Wilkie works in communications/media relations at UCSB.
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