Waves’ season ends in second round

Theresa Grace Mbanefo had 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocks and Jane Nwaba added 17 points, six rebounds and four assists but it wasn’t enough as Pepperdine’s season came to an end in a 74-59 loss to Brigham Young on Friday in the second round of the West Coast Conference tournament at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

Nani Falatea and Lauren Gustin each scored 23 for the Cougars, who advance to play San Francisco in the quarterfinals Saturday.

The Waves (11-19, 5-13) were held to 42% shooting from the floor and shot three for 12 from beyond the arc. They were also outrebounded 39-28 as Gustin had a game-high 18 rebounds for the Cougars (1515, 9-9).

Pepperdine trailed by seven at the half, but BYU pulled away in the third, pushing its lead to 20 points behind Falatea, who scored eight consecutive points toward the end of the quarter.

Pepperdine came into the game having won three in a row, including a 63-60 win over Santa Clara in the first round Thursday.

Pacific 82, Saint Mary’s 77: Liz Smith had a teamhigh 17 points and the Tigers (14-16, 8-10) got 36 points off the bench to hold off the Gaels (13-18, 6-12) in the second round.

Pacific advances to face San Diego in the quarterfinals Saturday.

The Tigers led by as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter but that lead was trimmed to five with 31 seconds left. Sam Ashby, who finished with 12 points, hit four free throws down the stretch to put away the win.

Men

Brigham Young 82, Portland 71: Richie Saunders scored a team-high 18 points off the bench to lead four Cougars in double figures and BYU (18-14, 7-9) rallied in the second half to top the Pilots (14-19, 5-11).

The Cougars, who trailed by 13 points at halftime, advance to play Loyola Marymount on Saturday in the quarterfinals.

San Francisco 80, Pacific 63: Tyrell Roberts scored 25 points and the Dons (19-13, 89) pulled away in the second half to beat the Tigers (15-18, 7-10) and advance to face Santa Clara.