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VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS FEATURING AVANT
MALIBU, Calif. – The San Francisco Dons staged a furious last-second rally that fell just short as Pepperdine held on to win 71-67 Thursday at Firestone Fieldhouse.
The see-saw battle began right from the tip in the contest that saw 12 lead changes and 13 ties. Pepperdine earns its first win in West Coast Conference action and moves to 4-9 (1-1 WCC) while USF continues its five-game slide to fall to 7-9 (0-3 WCC).
USF was led by a trio of double-digit scorers, with
Taylor Proctor's 14 points leading the way.
Mel Khlok, WCC Player of the Month for December, added 12 points and seven assists while
Taj Winston contributed 10 points for the Dons.
Alicia Scafidi and
Denae Mary Wiliams crashed the glass nine times apiece to lead all players. For The Waves, Kelsey Patrick's 16 paced the way to the win.
Early on, on-ball pressure near midcourt forced a turnover by Ea Shoushtari that resulted in a steal and fastbreak layup by
Zhané Dikes gave the Dons its first lead of the game at 12-11 with 13:08 remaining in the period.
Then, Pepperdine went on a 8-0 run to get a five-point lead and again pushed the advantage to five with 7:17 to play and the score at 24-19. After the Dons scrapped back even the score at 24 apiece, both teams traded baskets and leads to close the half at 34-34.
After Kelsey Brockway broke the tie in favor of the Waves to open the second period, Khlok got into the action and drained a three to give the Dons the lead. A steal and dish to a streaking Dikes followed on the next possession as USF held a 39-36 lead. USF held its largest lead of the evening after Proctor hit a long-range shot with 17:15 to play in the game.
Pepperdine regained the advantage on a jumper by Jade McNorton put the score at 43-42 with 16:02 to play, but the back-and-forth battle continued to rage. With the score at 51-48 in favor of the Waves, Williams went to the line for a pair for the Dons. After her second shot from the stripe missed its mark Scafidi pulled down the offensive board. After offensive motion around the arc, Khlok swished a trey off a dish from
Alexa Hardick to even the score. On the next USF possession the tandem paired up again, this time with Hardick on the receiving end of the pass to give the Dons the lead.
However, three-straight 3-pointers by three different Waves stunted the USF momentum as Pepperdine's Kelsey Patrick scored a jumper to give the Waves a 62-54 advantage, its largest of the night.
Hardick's third long-range shot of the contest stalled the swing by the Waves. A 3-pointer off the hand of Proctor that touched every part of the rim before dropping in pulled USF to 62-60, but an answer by Shay Cooney-Williams with 2:59 to play widened the lead to five.
A steal and layup by Dikes with 37.8 to play pulled the Dons to a one-possession affair with the score at 67-64. After Pepperdine's Alisha Roberts converted both ends of the 1-and-1 with 24 seconds remaining, Proctor drained a her fourth 3-pointer with 10.3 to play to pull within two points and keep USF's hope of victory alive. However, a successful trip to the line by Shoushtari finished off the game as Pepperdine hung on for the 71-67 win, its conference home opener.
Up next, USF returns home to the friendly confines of War Memorial Gym, where the Dons are 5-3 on the year. The team welcomes Portland to the Hilltop for a Saturday tipoff at 2 p.m.
