SPORTSCOPE : Control of Boards Key to Pepperdine-Santa Barbara Game

The Pepperdine women’s basketball team (5-3) will play host to UC Santa Barbara (3-3) at 7:30 tonight at Firestone Fieldhouse.

Both are coming off victories. Pepperdine defeated UC Irvine, 71-54, and Santa Barbara beat St. Mary’s, 76-71, in overtime.

Wave Coach Ron Fortner said Santa Barbara is “an excellent rebounding team, so we will have to concentrate on blocking people off the boards.”

Sophomore forward Shannon Frowiss leads Pepperdine with averages of 15.3 points and 8.1 rebounds. Junior center Sharon Wilson is averaging 9.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots.

Santa Barbara is led by senior forward Coryna Truitt, who is averaging 15.5 points and 13 rebounds, and by sophomore forward Erika Kienast at 12.7 points and 10 rebounds.

The Waves will entertain Furman at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Firestone.

The UCLA women’s basketball team (4-2 as the week began) will play Friday at Notre Dame.

Last Sunday the Bruins lost to defending national champion Tennessee, 77-55. UCLA was led by sophomore guard Rehema Stephens, who scored 25 points, and senior forward Sandra VanEmbricqs, who had 11 rebounds.

Stephens is averaging 19.8 points, VanEmbricqs 13.3 and sophomore center Molly Tideback 12.3.

The Santa Monica College men’s basketball team (12-3 at the start of the week) will play Tuesday through Dec. 29 in the Rancho Santiago College Tournament.

The Corsairs open against Walla Walla (Wash.) at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Other teams in the field are Rancho Santiago, the state’s top-ranked team; Long Beach City, Saddleback, Los Angeles Trade Tech, Mt. San Antonio and Marymount.

Last week the Corsairs, ranked 14th in the state by the JC Athletic Bureau, finished third in the Modesto College tournament. SMC defeated Delta, 90-61, and Long Beach City, 82-74; lost to City College of San Francisco, 98-92, and beat Modesto, 70-64, in the third-place game.

In the Modesto championship game, Santa Rosa City defeated San Francisco, 70-64. SMC sophomore forward Mark Moton was named to the all-tournament team.

The Santa Monica College women’s basketball team (9-2 as the week began), which won last week’s Trade Tech Tournament, will begin play Wednesday in the Grossmont College Tournament.

SMC sophomore forward Jackie Nikzad, named the most valuable player at Trade Tech, made seven of eight three-point shots and finished with 23 points as the Corsairs beat Riverside City, 74-60, in the title game.

Corsair sophomore guard Crystal Nettles, who scored 18 points against Riverside, also was named to the all-tournament team.

In other games at Trade Tech, the Corsairs defeated Ventura, 73-55, and Compton, 66-32. In an earlier, 86-82, loss to El Camino, SMC freshman point guard Judy Nakashima scored a career-high 23 points, including four three-pointers, and Nikzad made five three-pointers and finished with 21 points.