MALIBU, Calif. – The USF offense fell into a deep freeze on Thursday night, suffering a 81-59 loss to Pepperdine at Firestone Fieldhouse behind 28 percent shooting from the field, the Dons' second-lowest percentage of the season.
 
Senior Rachel Howard led the Dons (12-10, 6-5 WCC) with 14 points on the night, including three 3-pointers. Freshman Anna Pierce chipped in with nine points, while fellow freshman Nia Alexander tallied eight points and a team-high eight rebounds. Claudia Price added a career-high five assists.
 
USF held a commanding 49-35 advantage on the glass, including a season-high 26 offensive rebounds, but even the Dons' 18-0 margin in second chance points was not enough to shake them out of a 40-minute cold spell.
 
The Dons held their only lead following Howard's three with just over six minutes in the first quarter before Pepperdine (6-16, 4-7 WCC) started to widen the gap, taking a 23-16 lead into the second period.
 
USF could only muster nine points in the second quarter as the Waves, who shot 51 percent in the first half, opened their lead to 12 points by halftime.
 
The second half would prove to be much of the same as USF didn't get closer than 15 from that point on.
 
Pepperdine ended up shooting 53 percent on the night while going 12-of-24 from the perimeter.
 
Pepperdine was led by Yasmine Robinson-Bacote's 18 points, which highlighted five Waves in double figures.    
 
The Dons stay in Southern California for a 2 p.m. matinee at Loyola Marymount on Saturday afternoon.