LOCAL WOMEN: HINOJOSA SCORES 17 TO LEAD PEPPERDINE.

Byline: Daily News

A stifling defense helped the Pepperdine women's basketball team overcome a poor shooting performance against Houston on Saturday.

The Waves held the Cougars to a .328 shooting percentage from the floor en route to an easy 83-59 win in a nonconference game at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

Pepperdine (3-2) held Houston (1-2) to a 1-of-11 shooting performance from the 3-point line.

The defense overshadowed the Waves' own shooting woes. Pepperdine made just 13 of 22 foul shots (59 percent).

Former Moorpark High star Damaris Hinojosa led the Waves with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Sarah Ritchen (eight rebounds) and Tamara McDonald each added 15 points.

--BYU 68, UCLA 53: A poor second half prevented the Bruins from helping to mend its early-season woes in a nonconference game at BYU's Marriott Center.

The Bruins went just 7 of 28 from the field in the second half.

UCLA (1-4) managed to keep it close in the first half, thanks largely to the play of former Crescenta Valley High of La Crescenta standout Michelle Greco. The junior guard finished with 24 points and eight rebounds.

With Greco leading the way, the Bruins managed to shoot 40.7 percent from the field in the first half to stay within striking range.

But then UCLA couldn't buy a basket. The team finished with a .327 field-goal percentage for the game, including 2 of 9 from 3-point range.

The Bruins' defense watched the Cougars (1-0) shoot 50 percent (12 of 24) from the field in the second half and 47.2 percent for the game. BYU outrebounded UCLA 38-33, including a 27-22 advantage in defensive rebounds.

--The Master's 81, Cal Baptist 59: The Mustangs (5-2) are still waiting to break out. They were sloppy against the Lancers (4-2), committing 26 turnovers.

``It was ugly,'' coach Ken Sugarman said. ``It was one of those games that you're glad when it's over.''

But The Master's still cruised behind Lesley DuBois' 23 points and five rebounds in the game. which was played at Hart High in Newhall. Karen Gormley added 16 points and Erin Buescher 12. The Mustangs led 40-22 at the half.

- Chris Cocoles