Behind 22 points and 13 rebounds from Nadja Morgan, and a tournament MVP effort from Damaris Hinojosa, Pepperdine edged Santa Clara, 81-77, in a thrilling see-saw battle to secure their first worry-free wait for Selection Sunday in Trakh’s tenure.
In a tournament that saw the higher-seeded team win every game, the #1 Waves and the #2 Broncos engaged in a classic struggle. Tied 34-34 at halftime, the Broncos surged early in the second half to grab a 53-44 lead with ten minutes to play. Trakh called a time out and Pepperdine’s impressive crowd contingent felt the title slipping away yet again.
But Morgan was not about to let that happen to her for the fourth straight year.
The Waves roared back with 12 unanswered points, eight of them by Morgan, to take a 56-53 lead. From then on, the lead went back and forth repeatedly.
The entire game was nip-and-tuck, but the final 20 seconds were truly agonizing.
With the Waves hanging on to a 73-69 lead, the Broncos’ strategy was clear: foul and shoot threes, hope for the best. Shandrika Lee hit two foul shots to extend the lead to six with 18 seconds left, and Broncos point guard Becki Ashbaugh answered with a turnaround three-pointer that cut the lead in half.
Lee sank two more free throws, but then was called for a foul when Ashbaugh tripped, and Ashbaugh answered with two free throws of her own. Then it was Shannon Mayberry’s turn at the line, and she made one of two to extend the lead to 78-74.
Ashbaugh followed with an improbable off-balance 30-footer that cut the lead to one point. After Lee made a free throw with 1.6 seconds remaining, Trakh instructed his point guard to intentionally miss the second so Santa Clara would have to rebound a live ball and have to settle for a length-of-the-court heave. But Lee missed not only the shot, but also the rim, which is a violation and allowed the Broncos to regroup and throw an inbounds pass. But the pass went awry and was intercepted by Morgan, who sank two free throws for the final margin.
Lee finished with 15 points, Sarah Richen added 13 points and five assists, and Hinojosa scored 12. Mayberry contributed ten points and nine rebounds.
Ashbaugh’s late-came heroics brought her total to 20 points to pace the Broncos.
The Waves figure to have secured not only an NCAA tournament bid but a good seed, as their RPI has been in the mid-to-low 30’s most of the season. The Waves’ eight losses included four conference games but also Stanford, Syracuse, Arizona, and Illinois. Two victories over Santa Clara, as well as Alabama, George Washington, and Tulsa, will stand the team in good stead on Selection Sunday, as well. Santa Clara has probably earned an at-large bid, giving the conference multiple NCAA teams for the second time in three years. San Francisco and St. Mary’s are also considered candidates for at-large bids.