Pepperdine Women Advance

Freshman guard Liz Paulson scored all 17 of her points in the second half to lift second-seeded Pepperdine to a 75-56 victory over seventh-seeded Gonzaga in the first round of the West Coast Conference women’s basketball tournament Thursday at Toso Pavilion in Santa Clara.

Paulson made five of eight shots in the second half, including three three-point baskets, for Pepperdine (21-9), which outscored Gonzaga, 46-30, in the half.

“The game was much closer than the final score indicated,” Pepperdine Coach Mark Trakh said. “Our play was a bit ragged in the first half, but we had a nice run midway through the second half to build some breathing room.”

Junior guard Dana Sulenski scored 16 points for Pepperdine.

Staci Andrews had 17 points for Gonzaga (11-16).

Pepperdine will play St. Mary’s tonight in the semifinals.

Northern Arizona 80, CS Northridge 52--Edniesha Curry had 13 points and Tammie Mills 11 for the Matadors (13-12, 9-6) in a Big Sky Conference loss at Northern Arizona. Marisa von Bromssen had 17 points for Northern Arizona (20-5, 14-1).

SOFTBALL

Valley 6, Cuesta 4--Bonnie Lehigh drove in what proved to be the winning run with an infield single in the fifth inning of a Western State Conference opener at Valley.

Glendale 12, Santa Barbara 7--All nine starters scored for the Vaqueros in a WSC game at Glendale.

Tammie Parrot-Koven had two hits and three RBIs for Glendale (2-1, 1-0), which scored seven runs in the first inning.

Canyons 2, Moorpark 1--Alanna Gomez’s run-scoring single with one out in the seventh inning gave the Cougars (3-3, 1-0) a WSC victory at Canyons.

BASEBALL

Cuesta 11, Oxnard 7--Shawn Fossen had three hits and Brent Egan added two hits, including a double, but the Condors (7-4, 0-1) lost a WSC game at Oxnard.

Ventura 8, Santa Barbara 1--Andy Super (2-0) pitched a five-hitter for the Pirates in a WSC game at Santa Barbara (1-6, 0-1).

Super’s triple started a six-run seventh and scored the first run of the game on a single by Matt Cresto, who went four for four.

Jason Watkins had three hits and three stolen bases for Ventura (4-3, 1-0).

Canyons 7, Valley 4--Jesse Daggett’s RBI single in the 11th inning broke a 4-4 tie for the Cougars (9-1, 1-0) in a WSC game at Valley.

Vic Palmores, Frank Diaz and Ray Montenegro each had two hits for Valley (2-8, 0-1).

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Ventura 8, Glendale 1--Jaime Mortimer and Blair Maltman did not lose a game at No. 2 doubles for the Pirates (3-0, 2-0) in a WSC match at Ventura.