The Master's University women's basketball team had trailed only once at halftime in a game during the opening few weeks of the 2019-20 campaign until late Friday afternoon.
They came back to defeat Southeastern of Florida in the season-opener.
Fast forward to the Best Western Plus Carpinteria Inn Classic at Westmont College in Santa Barbara on Friday when the Mustangs trailed the University of Antelope Valley 24-21 at the break.
Just like they did three weeks earlier, the Mustangs used a big second half to rally past the Pioneers for a 60-43 victory.
"I'm really proud of our composure, culture, and collective identity that grew throughout the game," said Mustang head coach
Dan Waldeck. "The first half was a struggle to have the ball go in, but we had outstanding attention to detail in the second half."
Struggle, indeed. The Mustangs shot just 32% (8-25) from the field in the first half and trailed by that three-point margin.
The second half was a different story as the club went 12-19 (63.2%) from the field.
It started with a 5-9 third quarter that was complemented by six free throws as the Mustangs overcame a seven-point deficit with a stanza-closing 5-0 run that put them up 39-37 after three.
All six of those third-quarter free throws came in the final 1:02 of the period, including three from
Anika Neuman that put the Mustangs ahead for good and then gave them the two-point advantage.
The Mustangs held the Pioneers to just 5-18 accuracy from the field in the stanza.
Waldeck said, "Our team displayed tough defense and rebounding throughout, and it's that toughness that we need every night."
The defense was on display in the fourth quarter, too, as UAV scored just six points on 2-18 shooting.
That scoring skein to end the third quarter reached nine straight points when the Mustangs scored the first four points of the final period.
A 6-0 run, sparked by two Neuman layups and a layup from
Stephanie Soares, put the advantage in double digits, 49-39, and the Mustangs closed out the win scoring 11 of the game's final 15 points.
Soares led all scorers with 19 points, going 6-10 from the field and 7-8 from the line. She took down nine rebounds and blocked a season-high nine shots.
Hannah Ostrom was the only other Mustang in double figures, contributing 14 points, while Neuman added nine more and pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds.
TMU closes out play in the two-day Classic on Saturday in a game that features two of the top six teams in NAIA Division I basketball as the No. 4 Mustangs take on sixth-ranked Our Lady of the Lake from Texas at 5:00pm.
"So proud of the girls sticking with it and they just kept playing when things weren't easy," said Waldeck. "I think we will look back on this game as a key (needed) moment of our season."
