Box Score
MALIBU, Calif. --- Pepperdine’s Shay Cooney-Williams intercepted a Portland in-bounds pass and buried a shot from half-court to beat the buzzer and hand the Pilots a tough 66-63 loss in a wild West Coast Conference women’s basketball game played on Saturday afternoon at Firestone Fieldhouse. Cooney-Williams’ game-winner capped a furious comeback by the Waves, who trailed the Pilots by eight with 90 seconds remaining.
With the Pilots (7-11, 0-4 WCC) leading 60-52, Jazmine Jackson converted a fast-break while getting fouled. She’d hit the and-one to spark the Pepperdine (8-7, 3-1 WCC) rally and pull the Waves within five with 1:30 left.
Moments later, with the Pilots still up by four, Katie Menton hit a three-pointer to make it a one-point Pepperdine deficit with 30 seconds left on the clock. Then at the other end, after a Pepperdine foul, Portland senior Natalie Day pushed the lead back to three by calmly sinking two free throws with 14 seconds to play.
But Menton again responded, this time by hitting a clutch three-pointer from about 30 feet out to tie the score at 63-63 with 2.2 seconds remaining. And after a Portland timeout, Cooney-Williams came through with her improbable steal and buzzer beater.
Day had a solid outing for Portland, finishing with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds for her second straight double-double and fourth of the season. The senior was seven of 11 from the field, hit one of two three’s and went 6-for-7 at the free throw line.
Fellow senior ReZina TecleMariam also reached double figures for the Pilots, scoring 14 on the afternoon.
Cooney Williams notched 19 points for the Waves, while Jackson (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Menton (13 points, 11 rebounds) each posted a double-double.
The Pilots shot 20 of 44 overall (45.5 percent), hit six three-pointers and were 17-for-22 at the charity stripe. Pepperdine struggled against the UP zone for much of the afternoon, shooting just 36.8 percent. The Waves also went 7-for-25 from behind the arc and were nine of 14 at the line.
Portland was hampered by 28 turnovers, which led to 28 points for the Waves, but out-rebounded Pepperdine by a 37-35 margin. The Pilots were able to convert 16 Wave turnovers into 22 points.
The Pilots led by two at the half (29-27) and were able to open a 13-point lead twice during the second stanza.
Portland will next return home to host Saint Mary’s and San Francisco this week for a pair of WCC games at the Chiles Center. First up are the Gaels, who visit for a 7 p.m. tilt on Thursday night.
