Box Score As Our Lady of the Lake's full-court pressure reached a fever pitch in the closing moments of Saturday's NAIA top-10 matchup,
Stephanie Soares received the ball around midcourt and did what any self-respecting 6-foot-6 center with exceptional guard skills would. She took off.
Soares dribbled all the way into the lane, faked to her left and spun back to her right, laying the ball in to alleviate any threat the No. 6-ranked Saints might come all the way back from a deficit that had hovered near 20.
The No. 4-ranked Mustangs knew Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) planned to play at a frenetic pace on Saturday, hoping to hurry Master's into a bevy of mistakes on the final day of Westmont College's tournament in Santa Barbara. But TMU took it mostly in stride, moving the ball for open shots and protecting the ball – and rim – in an 85-68 win.
The total marked a season-high in points for the Mustangs, who have now beaten four teams ranked in NAIA Division 1 or 2 (the Saints are NAIA D1) on the way to a 7-0 record. This is TMU's best start to a season since 2012-13 when the club won its first 17 games.
Soares, who broke TMU's career blocks record Friday as only a sophomore, flirted with a triple-double Saturday, compiling 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks.
Hannah Ostrom added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and
Brooke Bailey chipped in 15 points.
Jessica Soares provided crucial production off the bench. She tossed in nine points to go with 10 rebounds and one block.
"Jess played fantastic tonight and was critical to our success," said TMU head coach
Dan Waldeck.
It was Ostrom who carried the Mustang offense early. Before three minutes had elapsed in the second quarter, the senior guard had compiled 12 points.
"She's been awesome," Waldeck said. "She's doing a little bit of everything. She's been relentless."
But the Saints (2-3) – who have lost to teams ranked No. 5, No. 8 and No. 4 over their last three games – showed why they opened the year at No. 6, taking a Mustang lead that had grown to 17 and dropping it to eight by halftime.
Our Lady of the Lake's Kasey Saldana scored eight of her 10 first-half points in the second quarter and Master's committed seven turnovers in that period to help the Saints climb back into the game.
But a play early in the second half embodied the command with which the Mustangs navigated the game's final 20 minutes. Junior
Anika Neuman clapped her hands repeatedly, calling for the ball outside the three-point arc. She received it and buried the shot for three of her seven points.
The Mustangs were off and running.
"We're just sticking together,"
Stephanie Soares said of why TMU has played particularly well in games against ranked opponents this season. "Our coaches challenged us to come together and play as one, and that's what we're doing. We're playing as one unit."
Eight Master's players recorded at least two assists, and the Mustangs won the rebounding battle 46-37.
The Mustangs did turn the ball over 18 times. But several came on offensive foul calls, and Waldeck was pleased that few of them came in succession.
"The biggest thing for us was that we didn't commit many consecutive turnovers," Waldeck said. "So we were able to stay poised and in control of pace."
