MALIBU, Calif. – A game-high 25 from Malia Bambrick helped lift Pepperdine to a 74-48 victory over Santa Clara women's basketball Thursday night in Malibu.
In addition to Bambrick, Yasmin Robinson-Bacote, the West Coast Conference's leading scorer, added 16 and eight rebounds with Deezha Battle chipping in 10 points. Barbara Sitanggan dished out 10 assists for a Pepperdine team that had 24 on 30 made baskets.
"Pepperdine played well tonight. We have to regroup and be ready on Saturday," Santa Clara head coach Bill Carr said.
The Waves pulled away with a 24-8 third quarter that featured a 12-0 run. Bambrick's 3-pointer with 2:59 to go in the quarter pushed the lead over 20 for the first time at 52-29 and capped the run.
The Broncos (8-7, 1-3 WCC) picked up the defense late in the fourth, allowing Pepperdine just two free throws over the final 4:19 but couldn't get the offense to follow suit with just a 3-pointer from Lindsey VanAllen and a couple of free throws from Charise Holloway.
Tia Hay led the team with 18 points and was 2-for-4 from downtown but the rest of the Broncos scored just 30 points and were 3-for-20 from beyond the arc. Lindsey VanAllen scored seven with Lauren Yearwood adding six and nine rebounds.
Pepperdine got on a roll late in the second quarter and used a 14-2 run to build its lead to double-figures for the first time. Robinson-Bactoe scored six points with Battle and Bambrick also knocking down 3-pointers. Bambrick's triple at the 1:53 mark made it 31-21.
Hay started red hot and scored the first 10 points for the Broncos who used a 7-0 run in the first quarter over 90 seconds to get up 12-7, their largest lead of the game, at the 5:06 mark.
NOTES
- Santa Clara is now 40-38 all-time against Pepperdine.
- Charise Holloway made her season debut after missing the first 14 games with an injury.
UP NEXT
Santa Clara stays down south and heads to LMU Saturday at 1 p.m.
Connect with the Broncos on Social Media
Athletics: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Snapchat
Women's Basketball: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
