SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco women's basketball team seemed to have a breakthrough last week in a thrilling overtime win against Santa Clara.
 
With a versatile attack and moments of defensive brilliance, the Dons — who have played shorthanded all season — looked to finally find a formula they could work with.
 
San Francisco started out hot on Thursday against Pepperdine, taking an eight-point first-quarter lead. After flashing the type of energy they showed against the Broncos, though, the Dons weren't able to sustain the effort, and fell 70-64 at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center despite 17 points and eight rebounds from Mikayla Williams and Leilah Vigil's 14 points and 13 rebounds.
 
"[It was] the same things we struggled with and over our other losses: too many offensive rebounds that we give up and too many turnovers," said head coach Molly Goodenbour, whose team tallied 17 turnovers. "That made it real tough."
 
Against a team they lost to by 12 three weeks ago, the Dons (8-15, 1-10 in West Coast Conference) had their second straight game shooting over 50%, going 26 for 51 (51.0%) from the field and 5-of-12 from beyond the arc (41.7%), while going 7-of-10 at the free-throw line. Despite five players logging 30 or more minutes, San Francisco was just about even on the boards, losing the rebounding battle, 32-31.
 
The Dons held the Waves (12-10, 6-6 in WCC) to just 2-of-12 shooting to start the game, as Lucie Hoskova piled up eight of her team-high 19 points in the first quarter, including two of San Francisco's three 3-pointers of the first half. Pepperdine, though, was getting rebounds — particularly on the offensive glass — and eventually, shots began to fall.
 
A trio of Dons turnovers and a concerted effort by Pepperdine to shut Hoskova down quickly flipped the momentum. The Waves erased an eight-point deficit and scored six quick points off turnovers to end the first quarter.
 
"We turned the ball over against the press at some inopportune times," Goodenbour said. "They had too many second-chance opportunities that they were able to capitalize on."
 
In the second quarter, San Francisco alternated between the kind of energy that held Santa Clara to just six points in overtime on Saturday, and showing the fatigue of a team with only a three-person bench.
 
The Dons had enough spunk to keep Pepperdine within reach. With 4:30 to go in the third, a full-court outlet pass from Hoskova to Dolapo Balogun got caught in a tangle of arms in the paint, but Williams — who had just two points at that juncture after scoring 29 on Saturday — picked up the loose ball for the layup and the foul. Her three-point play gave San Francisco a 37-34 lead. The Dons' walking wounded cheered, with Marianna Klavina leaping up to scream.
 
"We've talked a lot about trying to put several positive things together in a row, and trying to eliminate putting negative things together," Goodenbour said. "When we're able to get a basket like that and get a little bit of momentum, I think it gives us some confidence moving forward."
 
The teams swapped leads seven times over the next 10 minutes, with neither leading by more than three. Hoskova scored six points in that stretch, as Vigil secured her WCC-leading 10th double-double of the season and Williams poured in 12 points.
 
A corner three by Abby Rathbun off a skip pass from Kia Vaalavirta with just under three minutes to go tied things at 62-62, and a tight defensive rotation forced a Waves turnover, leading to a running layup by Williams. But San Francisco couldn't get separation.
 
Pepperdine's Hannah Friend (who scored a team-high 18 points) missed a pair of free throws, but the Waves got the ball back with their 14th offensive rebound. A layup from Malia Bambrick (17 points) opened up a 68-64 lead with under 20 seconds to go.
 
"We did not box out," Goodenbour said. "That's a really big opportunity missed right there."
Pepperdine finished the game on an 8-0 run, hitting four of its final five shots. After the Waves' dismal start from the floor, they hit 24 of 51 shots, powering their second three-game winning streak of the season and earning them their first road WCC win of the year.