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MALIBU, Calif. – With a basket that seemed as big as the ocean flanking the Pepperdine campus to start the game, the San Francisco women's basketball shot their way to the 15-point halftime lead and held on for an 81-74 victory against the Waves on Saturday afternoon at Firestone Fieldhouse.

The Dons were led by a trio of scorers, keyed by a 16-point first half for Kalyn Simon. She closed the game with 18 points, going 5-of-7 from distance to record a career high day.

Taylor Proctor paced the squad with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists on .500 shooting and an 11-of-13 effort from the line. Zhane Dikes picked up the 15-point, 11-rebound double-double to go along with four steals. All 10 women who entered the lineup for the Dons scored at least two points on the day.

"Kalyn Simon hit some big threes, and when we can have one of our 3-point shooters emerge then it makes it really tough for our opponents to play zone, and we've got great shooters on the perimeter," said head coach Jennifer Azzi. "I thought we did a great job executing zone offense. It's an area where we've struggled the past couple games, and we shouldn't struggle against a zone. I'm happy with our improvement in that area."

The Dons opened the day with the 12-7 lead after Simon's second triple of the day found the bottom of the net with 4:47 to play in the first quarter. By the end of the first frame, USF held the 22-14 lead after Hashima Carothers forced Kayla Blair into committing the turnovers and converted the fast break layup with 37 seconds remaining in the period.

Proctor opened up the second with the post move and score to extend the gap to 10, but the Waves rallied back to cut the lead to 29-23 after Olivia Ogwumike's layup with 6:14 remaining in the half. The Dons closed the period with five unanswered, capped by a four-point play for Simon with 0.8 seconds on the clock. 

USF owned the 47-32 advantage at the break, with Simon's perfect 5-for-5 effort from three leading the way. Along with the hot hand of Simon the Dons shot 53.3 percent from the field as a team, and USF's defense forced Pepperdine into 11 turnovers resulting in 21 points for the visiting Dons.

USF extended the lead to 17 points after Proctor dished to Michaela Rakova for the jumper with 8:02 to play in the third quarter.  Then, the Dons' offense went on a scoring drought as Pepperdine rolled off a 8-1 run with alternating baskets for sisters Olivia and Erica Ogwumike.

By the quarter switch USF's lead was at 60-51, and the Waves turned it into a two-possession game minutes later. Erica passed to Olivia for the layup to put the score at 63-59 with 7:41 remaining in the contest. The Dons stretched the lead back to double-digit as Dikes sunk a pair from the line with 3:40, but Pepperdine had one last run in the tank.

Allie Green drained a triple for the Waves and Pepperdine forced an empty possession for the USF offense. After two successful trips to the free throw line, the Waves were again within four with 1:12 to go. Pepperdine proceeded to send the Dons to the line six times in the final minute of the game, and USF went 7-for-12 in its attempts en route to the 81-74 victory.

"We need to be able to put together a full game. That's what we talked about at the half, and we were hoping that we wouldn't have to have that conversation at the end of the game," explained Azzi. I think it's a product of being a team that's still maturing, but they keep getting better and that's what I'm pleased about."

Despite USF's 24 percent shooting in the second half, both teams finished the game shooting 40 percent from the field, and each squad hit six 3-pointers on the afternoon.

Two categories on the stat sheet stood out in favor of the Dons: 31 points off of 19 Pepperdine turnovers, and a 31-for-43 effort from the line. The Waves were paced by a combined 38 points for the Ogwumike sisters, accounting for more than half of the Pepperdine offense. With the victory, the Dons improve to 12-7 on the year, and 3-5 in West Coast Conference play. Meanwhile, Pepperdine slips to 5-13 (1-6 WCC).

"I thought tonight our defensive intensity was not very good in the second half and that's an area that we need to improve," said Azzi. "With a one game week with Santa Clara, it will be good to get a good solid week of practice and work to just keep getting better."

Riding a two-game conference winning streak, USF takes on travel partner, Santa Clara, in its lone contest next week. The Dons and the Broncos tip off at the Leavey Center on Saturday at 2 p.m.