When The Master's University women's basketball team arrived in Northridge on Tuesday for an exhibition against CSUN, it did so with a high level of composure.
The Mustangs didn't feel overwhelmed stepping inside an impressive facility to play an NCAA Division 1 opponent. The situation hardly fazed them.
"I didn't even really think about (the fact that they were Division 1) until you asked," junior Anika Neuman said afterward.
But that didn't mean the Mustangs were impervious to another nerve-frazzling fourth quarter, the kind that derailed last week's season opener against Azusa Pacific.
When CSUN cut what had been a 20-point Master's lead to one early in the final period, it looked as though the Mustangs were destined for a similar fate: a strong showing gone wrong.
But this time, despite the absence of four key players, the Mustangs demonstrated the poise of a team expected to contend for a conference title and a deep postseason run.
Master's beat CSUN 65-61 inside the Matadome, getting the best of an NCAA Division 1 opponent for the first time since beating these Matadors during the 2015-2016 season.
Stephanie Soares was dominant. Neuman did a little of everything. And freshman Olivia Prettyman put on a precocious performance.
Soares had 25 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks, while Neuman had nine points, seven rebounds and five assists and Prettyman poured in 12 points.
Soares and Prettyman combined to score every point during TMU's decisive 10-2 run in the fourth quarter, a surge that came in response to CSUN outscoring the visitors by 11 in the third quarter and tossing in the first basket of the fourth.
What had been a 20-point lead late in the first half was down to one.
The Mustangs were in a nearly identical situation on Thursday when they hosted NCAA Division 2 Azusa Pacific. Azusa erased all of a 12-point second half deficit on the way to a 60-48 win at TMU. The Cougars outscored their hosts 21-6 in the fourth quarter by using an aggressive, trapping press to smother a Mustang team that looked uncharacteristically overwhelmed.
Tuesday, Master's had an answer.
"I think our togetherness was the difference," Neuman said. "Last week, when things got tough we responded by becoming isolated, and this week we rose above that, took a deep breath and showed what we're capable of when we stay together."
It certainly took a collective effort.
Madi Hull scored 11 points and dished out four assists. It was her second double-digit scoring effort in as many games since transferring to Master's from George Fox University in Oregon. This, however, was her first start — coming in the absence of a handful of her teammates who were out due to injury or illness.
Prettyman came off the bench to help fill the void, knocking down two of the six three-pointers she attempted and going 4-for-4 at the free throw line, two coming during TMU's crucial fourth-quarter run.
"You know, she's a gamer," TMU head coach Dan Waldeck said of Prettyman. "So it wasn't surprising as much as it was exciting. She doesn't let much get to her, so we knew it was in her, and I've been telling her that she is going to turn into a scorer. Thankfully, she did it at key times tonight."
It was defense, however, that spotted TMU its considerable first-half lead. Master's held the Matadors to four points in the first quarter on 5% shooting.
Had it not been for TMU's turnovers — CSUN scored 36 points off 25 Mustang giveaways — there might not have been any fourth-quarter drama.
Nonetheless, the Matadors dropped the deficit to three by the end of the third, and De'Jionae Calloway's basket to open the fourth brought the Matadors within a point.
But the Mustangs refused to fold.
"We played composed and aggressive," Soares said.
