MALIBU, Calif. (Interstat) — Visiting UC Santa Barbara closed with a late fourth-quarter push and defeated home Pepperdine 58-54 in a women’s NCAA Division I basketball game Thursday at Firestone Fieldhouse. The Gauchos improved to 2-0, while the Waves fell to 1-1 in front of an announced attendance of 552.

UC Santa Barbara built its early lead from the perimeter. Karisma Flores opened the scoring with a 3-pointer and added another 3-point jump shot as the Gauchos jumped ahead. Keandra Koorits answered with a 3-pointer for Pepperdine, and Elli Guiney made a layup, but Naomy Zonzon-Huyghe and Chauncey Andersen connected from beyond the arc to help UC Santa Barbara maintain control. Olivia Anderson added a free throw, Guiney scored again for the Waves, and Zonzon-Huyghe made a layup. Guiney hit a 3-point stepback jump shot, Andersen made another 3-pointer, and Maggie Mendelson scored a layup for Pepperdine. Anderson then made a 3-point jump shot, Seleh Harmon answered with a 3-pointer for the Waves, and Anderson made a turnaround jumper. Evelyn Martyn made a free throw for Pepperdine before Flores closed the first quarter with a 3-pointer that gave UC Santa Barbara a 26-16 advantage.

Pepperdine responded in the second quarter and erased the deficit before halftime. Zoe Shanahan opened the period with a 3-pointer, but Anderson made a 3-pointer for UC Santa Barbara. Mendelson scored on a layup, Harmon made two free throws, and Mendelson added a turnaround jump shot as the Waves climbed back. Nicole Steiner made two free throws for the Gauchos, but Harmon made a 3-pointer to keep Pepperdine close. Martyn made two free throws, then added another free throw to tie the game. Taija Sta Maria made a layup to give the Waves the lead, and Lina Falk made two free throws as Pepperdine moved ahead. UC Santa Barbara stayed close on Zoe Borter’s late layup, and Pepperdine carried a 35-33 lead into halftime.

The lead changed hands again in the third quarter. Falk made a free throw for Pepperdine, Borter made a floating jump shot for UC Santa Barbara, and Guiney made two free throws for the Waves. Flores made a pullup jump shot, Guiney answered with two layups, and Flores made a floating jump shot as the Gauchos stayed within striking distance. Andersen made a driving layup and added a free throw to tie the game at 42. Guiney made a jump shot for Pepperdine, Zonzon-Huyghe made a free throw for UC Santa Barbara, and Guiney made another free throw. Madison Naro made a layup at the end of the period to tie the game at 45 entering the fourth quarter.

UC Santa Barbara took control in the final period. Flores opened the quarter with a 3-point stepback jump shot, Mendelson made a layup for Pepperdine, and Steiner made a jump shot for the Gauchos. Naro made a layup to push UC Santa Barbara ahead, Guiney answered with a 3-pointer for the Waves, and Naro made a pullup jump shot. Anderson made a layup for the Gauchos, Falk made a jump shot for Pepperdine, and Harmon made a layup to cut the deficit to two. Anderson then made a layup with 1:29 remaining to close the scoring and secure the win for UC Santa Barbara.

UC Santa Barbara shot 22 of 63 from the floor, 9 of 19 from three-point range and 5 of 7 from the free throw line. Pepperdine shot 18 of 47 from the floor, 6 of 19 from three-point range and 12 of 18 from the free throw line. The Gauchos had 10 offensive rebounds, 13 assists, 2 blocks and 15 turnovers. The Waves had 8 offensive rebounds, 4 assists, 6 blocks and 20 turnovers. UC Santa Barbara scored 58 points from 71 possessions for an offensive rating of 81.3, while Pepperdine scored 54 points from 68 possessions for an offensive rating of 79.9.

Elli Guiney of Pepperdine led all scorers with 19 points and added 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks in 40 minutes. Maggie Mendelson had 8 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks in 29 minutes for the Waves. Olivia Anderson led UC Santa Barbara with 13 points, 4 rebounds and 1 block in 19 minutes. Karisma Flores added 16 points and 2 rebounds in 23 minutes, Chauncey Andersen had 9 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist in 20 minutes, and Naomy Zonzon-Huyghe had 6 points and 5 rebounds in 29 minutes. Evelyn Martyn had 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 block in 9 minutes for Pepperdine, while Taija Sta Maria had 2 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in 39 minutes. Lina Falk added 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 block in 33 minutes for the Waves, and Zoe Borter had 4 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in 38 minutes for the Gauchos.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Pepperdine 67, UC Santa Barbara 63, and Interstat’s ELO system had projected Pepperdine with a 70.6 percent probability to win.