Final Stats

MALIBU, Calif. - The Gonzaga Bulldogs dropped their West Coast Conference opener for the first time in four years on Thursday evening at Pepperdine, 79-69.

In the end, Gonzaga was done in by 19 offensive rebounds for the Waves for 25 second-chance points. GU actually shot a higher field goal percentage, 39.7 percent to 36.8 percent, but was outrebounded 50-33. Kiara Kudron was a rebound short of a double-double with 22 points and nine rebounds, and Jill Barta scored 22 points. Elle Tinkle grabbed 10 rebounds and Kudron led with five assists. The Zags struggled to equalize the rebounding margin from three, going five-of-28.

The Zags came out strong on defense and led 7-0 three minutes in. Pepperdine came storming back to grab two separate leads, but a steal and half-court shot from Makenlee Williams at the buzzer saw GU lead 13-12 after one. Emma Stach scored five and Barta came off the bench with four in the quarter. Kudron had five rebounds.

The Waves hit a couple threes and led 31-28 six minutes into the second quarter. The Zags were unable to regain the lead and trailed 36-33 at the half. Barta and Kudron finished with 10 points each. Gonzaga gave up 11 offensive rebounds and five threes, while only grabbing three boards and hitting two threes. Pepperdine scored 19 second-chance points while GU had none.

Five-straight points from the Waves to open the second half saw them grab their biggest lead, but GU came right back with five to match from a Kudron jumper and a Stach three. The run extended to 7-0 before a couple empty trips for both teams forced a Waves' timeout at 5:26, leading 41-40. Two Barta free throws briefly gave GU the 44-43 lead before Pepperdine regained the edge 46-44 with two minutes left in the quarter. The Waves took the 50-48 lead into the fourth quarter.

A back and forth start to the fourth quarter eventually led to Pepperdine taking their largest lead of the game at the 4:30 mark, 63-55. The lead extended to 67-57 with three minutes left. GU got the lead down to six, 69-63 with a chance to cut in further, but a missed jumper and a Pepperdine free throw kept them at bay. Pepperdine iced the win 79-69.

The Bulldogs will look to get back in the win column as they welcome Pacific to Spokane on Saturday at 2 pm for a New Year's Eve matinee. Live stats and live video links are available at GoZags.com. The game will be featured live on Dish Network's Sling TV and Verizon's go90 app.