Vanguard runs by Mustangs

The Master's University women's basketball team had No. 9 Vanguard right where it wanted.
 
Playing stellar defense and finding the basket at opportune times, the Mustangs led the Lions 22-19 at intermission.
 
Then the teams played another 20 minutes.
 
In that span Vanguard outscored the Mustangs 50-20 and ran away with a 69-42 victory in the regular-season finale for both clubs in Costa Mesa.
 
"We, unfortunately, put a good defensive half and a bad defensive half together in the same game," said TMU head coach Dan Waldeck.  "And, with our inability to make shots or get rhythm, it ended in a tough loss."
 
The loss evened the Mustangs' GSAC record at 7-7 and they fell to 18-9 overall.
 
It was a tough pill to swallow for the Mustangs, who handled the Lions (then No. 2) easily in a 75-62 win on January 25.
 
It was another story Saturday evening, but it took 20 minutes for Vanguard to get there.
 
In the opening half, the Mustangs limited the Lions to 23% (7-31) accuracy and shot just a little better to forge that three-point lead.
 
After spotting the Lions the game's first seven points and falling behind 12-4, the Mustangs galloped back into contention with a 6-0, quarter-closing run. 
 
Hannah Forrar's free throw with 1:30 left in the stanza ignited the burst, Hannah Ostrom added a jumper, and Jamilee Iddings' three-pointer drew the Mustangs within two.
 
That defensive effort Waldeck referred to was on display from the 3:14 mark in the first quarter to the 6:40 mark of the second period when the Mustangs held the Lions scoreless.
 
However, the TMU offense couldn't capitalize and still trailed by two points, 14-12.
 
They finally slid in front, 17-16, on a Jessica Soares' layup with 3:27 left in the half and when Iddings drained another three and then hit two free throws, the Mustangs went to the break up by three.
 
If the game had only stopped there.
 
It didn't.  It was just beginning for the Lions who dropped a 20-1 run on the Mustangs in the first 6:36 of the third quarter and never looked back.
 
A 27-point quarter gave them a 46-31 lead after three periods.
 
Before the Lions raced away for good in the fourth stanza, the Mustangs made it interesting for a few minutes.
 
Down 49-31, TMU scored 10 of the game's next 12 points to get within 51-41 with 6:13 left.  Two Ostrom treys fueled the rally and a Tristen Coltom jumper made it a ten-point game.
 
Then, just as suddenly, the offense went down.  The Mustangs managed just one point over the final six-plus minutes while the Lions closed out the game on a 19-1 run.
 
Ostrom was the only Mustang to score in double figures, going for 14 points.
 
Now, the Mustangs get some much-needed time off in preparation for the first round of the GSAC Tournament next weekend at Arizona Christian.
 
"The week between games is needed to heal and recover, so I'm confident we'll be ready to play next week in Arizona."
 
Fifth-seeded TMU will face No. 3 seed Menlo in a 1:30pm start next Friday.