Warriors too much for Mustangs
The Master's University found out Friday evening why Lewis-Clark State is the country's second-ranked squad.
Such a lofty preseason ranking, courtesy of last year's national tournament runner-up finish, got a big confirmation against the No. 18 Mustangs when the Warriors scored 53 second-half points on the way to a 90-74 victory over TMU.
After four exhibitions to start the 2017-18 campaign, the Mustangs played their first regular-season contest in a tough environment and over the first 20 minutes they stayed right with the Warriors.
A bucket by freshman Rebekah Throns with four minutes left in the opening quarter gave the Mustangs a 12-6 lead and that margin was equaled (20-14) when fellow freshman Jessica Soares scored with 24 seconds remaining and the Mustangs led 20-15 at the quarter.
Even when the Warriors flexed their muscles in the opening minutes of the second quarter, the Mustangs had an answer. L-C State outscored the Mustangs 11-4 in the first 3:56 of the stanza to take their first lead of the evening, 26-24.Â
However, on the Mustangs' next possession Hannah Forrar drained a three-pointer to push the Mustangs in front and it sparked a 13-2 run for a 37-28 lead with 3:35 left in the half. Forrar scored five more points in that burst, including another trifecta and a basket to give the Mustangs their largest lead of the evening.
The Warriors closed with a rush, though, holding the Mustangs scoreless down the stretch while scoring nine straight points to tie it at 37-all at the break.
The Mustangs staved off that momentum, taking an early third-quarter lead on a Sabrina Thompson bucket and tied the game at 42-all on another Forrar trey at the 8:41 mark.
That's when the Warriors started to make a statement and their defense fueled it. Keeping the Mustangs off the board for nearly three minutes, the Warriors ripped off 12 consecutive points to turn a five-point game into a 66-49 advantage with 3:20 left in the quarter.
Three-pointers from Tristen Coltom and Hannah Ostrom kept the Mustangs within striking distance. Still, they went to the fourth quarter trailing 71-60.
The Warriors started the final stanza with six straight points before the Mustangs closed to within 11 (77-66) again on an Anika Neuman free throw with 5:28 left to play.
That would be as close as they would get the rest of the way as the Warriors pulled away down the stretch.Â
On an evening when the Mustangs shot 40.6% from the field, they were led by Forrar's marksmanship. The sophomore went 10-14 from the field, including 6-6 from behind the arc, en route to a career-high 26 points. Thompson was the only other Mustang in double figures with 11 points.
After playing three games in as many nights, the Mustangs get a day off Saturday before finishing their busy trip to the Northwest with a Sunday exhibition at Eastern Washington.
