Lady Mustangs use big third quarter to move past Ottawa

Sometimes it just takes time.
 
Like 20 minutes.
 
That's how long it took Thursday evening in Surprise, Arizona, for The Master's University women's basketball team to figure things out against Ottawa University Arizona.
 
Once the Mustangs did, they took off en route to a 74-60 victory in the GSAC opener for both clubs.
 
"After a choppy first half, it was good to see the girls find a rhythm in the third quarter," said Mustang head coach Dan Waldeck.
 
A late push before intermission set up the strong third quarter, though. 
 
Up 23-22 with just over three minutes until half, senior Jamilee Iddings drained a three-pointer, and junior Sabrina Thompson and freshman Stephanie Soares followed with baskets as the Mustangs extended the advantage to eight points.
 
In all, the Mustangs (5-2) closed the first half on a 12-3 run to lead 35-25 at the break. 

Master's opened the second half with five straight points from junior Brooke Bailey, and when Soares converted a layup with 4:26 left in the third, the lead had grown to 50-34.
 
It reached a game-high 20 points when sophomore Tristen Coltom drained a three-pointer with 1:42 remaining in the quarter.
 
The Mustangs led 56-38 at the end of three.
 
That third stanza proved to be pivotal because the Spirit made a game of it in the final quarter with a spirited rally that sliced the deficit to as few as seven points (63-56) before the Mustangs restored a semblance of order.
 
They did it with an 11-2 burst that Iddings initiated with a free throw and Coltom finished off with a layup.
 
In between, Iddings, who finished with 10 points, buried her third trey of the evening, Soares added a trio of charity tosses, and Thompson made a layup.
 
Soares' free throws capped a monstrous outing as the freshman notched a game-high 22 points to go along with a career-high 19 rebounds and seven blocks.  The double-double was her third in as many games.
 
Thompson added 14 points and took down seven rebounds.
 
Iddings and Coltom combined for 17 points and paced a bench that produced 25 points.
 
"Once again the bench played a big role by coming in ready with a competitive spirit," said Waldeck.
 
The 14th-ranked Mustangs will complete their brief road trip to the Valley of the Sun on Saturday afternoon when they play at No. 22 Arizona Christian.
 
"Winning road conference games is extremely difficult," said Waldeck.  "I'm proud of how we stuck with it even when we were out of sync."