A mutual respect exists between The Master's University women's basketball team and Westmont College, one forged by years of tightly contested competition and strong rapport.
TMU coach
Dan Waldeck and Westmont coach Kirsten Moore are longtime friends. Warrior players temporarily dormed at TMU while Westmont was impacted by the Thomas fire last season. The rivalry is anything but hostile.
"We're always able to go through the handshaking line and say good game, whoever wins," Waldeck said, "and I think that's a testament to the respect each program has for each other."
That's not to say two of the NAIA's best defenses won't get after each other Saturday at 5:30 p.m. inside The MacArthur Center.
Westmont, the No. 15-ranked team in NAIA Division 1, and No. 21 Master's are both in the top 10 nationally in terms of scoring defense. And traditionally when the two get together, they become particularly defensive.
In the teams' last six matchups, neither squad has surpassed 62 points.
"It will be a little smashmouth probably," Waldeck said. "They're good. They're physical. They're really aggressive."
As of Friday, Westmont was the No. 3 scoring defense in the country. The Warriors (12-4, 5-1 in Golden State Athletic Conference) are allowing opponents to score a tick over 50 points a game, and Waldeck expects to be faced with a bevy of defensive looks.
Master's will respond in kind. The Mustangs run what Waldeck calls an "amoeba" zone, one that at times looks like a 2-3, 1-3-1 or 4-1, adapting to the need of the moment.
The principles are simple: players make reads and trap aggressively. The impact has been undeniable.
In their last nine games, the Mustangs have allowed an average of 43.2 points, nearly 20 points lower than through the season's first eight games when the team started an uninspiring 5-3.
The Mustangs have since gone 8-1 and, as of Friday, ranked seventh nationally in points allowed per night, at 52.5.
Saturday's task will look different than in past years, but that doesn't mean it will be any easier.
A season ago, the Warriors were built around an all-world frontcourt. GSAC Player of the Year Lauren McCoy, GSAC Defensive Player of the Year Joy Krupa and Morgan Haskin, an NAIA All-American, gave the Mustangs fits in three meetings, all Westmont wins.
But McCoy and Haskin were seniors, and Krupa transferred to Cal State Fullerton, so the Warriors are relatively young.
That's not to say, however, that they've missed a beat. Westmont has won five of its last six games, and four in a row.
The Warriors' leading scorers are freshmen posts Kaitlin Larson (13.3 ppg) and Sydney Brown (10.1 ppg), creating a natural storyline in a battle with TMU's prized first-year player,
Stephanie Soares.
On Tuesday, the 6-foot-6 Mustang freshman was named the NAIA Division 1 National Player of the Week after a monster few days against No. 24 William Jessup and No. 11 Menlo College.
The wins vaulted the Mustangs into a four-way tie, which includes Westmont, for first place in conference standings.
Saturday, Soares will get her first taste of this rivalry.
Like Soares, Larson (5-11) and Brown (6-0) are surrounded by talented guards more than capable of connecting from outside the three-point arc.
In fact, Westmont's strengths play very well in today's game. As of Friday, the Warriors were the NAIA's best team at defending the three-point shot and the No. 2 team at scoring from there.
Westmont is making 39% of its three-point tries, with Taylor Rarick and Iyree Jarrett stacked 1-2 in the conference as far as long-distance percentage.
Waldeck believes the duo isn't the only danger Westmont presents.
"They have like five kids who shoot it well," he said. "I think even some of their kids who haven't shot it well are just as, if not more, dangerous."
The Mustangs hope to counter with length, communication and activity on defense.
"We have to make sure the threes they shoot are with a hand in their face," Waldeck said.
