Mustangs ready for NorCal swing

What does Master's women's basketball coach Dan Waldeck take away from last week, when his team toppled the No. 2 team in the nation and then suffered a head-scratching loss to Hope International?

"That we have a long way to go," Waldeck said.

What kind of effort does Waldeck expect from the Mustangs during a two-game swing through Northern California this week?

"They're hungry. There is no quit in our team," he said.

Master's (13-6, 3-4) will travel north to the Sacramento area Thursday to take on William Jessup (11-11, 2-5) before continuing on to Atherton to play No. 16 Menlo College (17-4, 5-2) on Saturday.

The trip is a crucial one as the Mustangs are tied with Hope for fifth place in GSAC, one game ahead of Jessup for the sixth and final conference tournament berth.

Brooke Bailey hits a long 2 and the Mustangs are within 11. Four minutes left in the third. pic.twitter.com/rMx7tNRlcH

— TMU Athletics (@TMUAthletics) January 28, 2018

Master's – which sits just outside the NAIA Division 1 top 25 rankings – has played like a young, talented group, one without a senior, one trying to find its way in what can be a brutally tough conference.

Last Thursday was the season's high point so far, Hannah Forrar scoring a career-high 34 points in a 75-62 upset of No. 2 Vanguard.

The joy was short-lived as Hope came to Bross Court on Saturday and rode Emma Forel's 28 points to an 81-59 win.

The road doesn't get easier. Jessup is just 11-11 overall, but 7-2 at home. 

Menlo is 10-1 at home.

"Both teams are really dangerous at home," Waldeck said, "and there's no way around it, we're going to have to play better to win."

Waldeck pinpointed rebounding and defense as the main culprits in an up-and-down run. In TMU's three GSAC wins, it has held its opponent under 63 points. In its four loss, teams are averaging 78.5 points.

"It's going to come down to working hard on 'D' and making it hard to score," Waldeck said, "because we're going on the road five of  our last seven regular-season games."

Hannah Forrar's career day lifted TMU over No. 2 Vanguard on Thursday night. Here's how it went down ???? https://t.co/o6DsHUoaEX

— TMU Athletics (@TMUAthletics) January 26, 2018

On the bright side, Waldeck said the loss to Hope refocused the Mustangs and that this week of practice has been sharp and energized.

"Second half of league is a different story," Waldeck said. "You've seen everybody. They've seen you. It's about us seeing if we can turn around our consistency. Because we've been consistently inconsistent."

For live video and stats of TMU's games this week, click here.