No. 1 Mustang women's basketball falls to No. 5 Vanguard

The Master's University women's basketball team knew this portion of its schedule would be particularly challenging. 

The No. 1-ranked Mustangs traveled to Santa Barbara and beat No. 4 Westmont last Saturday evening.
 
Five nights later, TMU returned home to face No. 5 Vanguard in another big Golden State Athletic Conference matchup.
 
This time, the Mustangs just couldn't catch the Lions, who led the entire fourth quarter and eked out a 61-60 win to hand Master's  (19-1, 7-1 GSAC) its first loss of the season.
 
TMU is now in a three-way tie with Vanguard (14-2, 7-1) and Westmont for first place in GSAC standings. 

"A disappointing but deserved loss," said TMU head coach Dan Waldeck.  "Vanguard outplayed us and deserved the victory.  I'm glad we hung in there and had our opportunities down the stretch, but we played well below our potential."
 
The Mustangs trailed by as many as five points four times in the final quarter and drew within one on three occasions, the last time coming with eight seconds remaining when senior guard Hannah Ostrom's two free throws made it a 61-60 game.
 
Ostrom was one of three Mustangs in double figures, scoring 13 points and taking down nine rebounds.
 
The Lions did a good job containing Stephanie Soares in the final quarter, holding the 6-6 center to just four points over the final 10 minutes.
 
Soares finished with game-highs of 20 points and 16 rebounds for the 14th double-double of her sophomore season.
 
Senior guard Sabrina Thompson contributed 10 points and her jumper in the paint with 7:52 left in the third quarter gave the Mustangs their largest lead of the evening, 31-25.
 
The Mustangs never got on track from behind the arc, draining a season-low two three-pointers, while Vanguard hit 10 treys.
 
Four of those came in the fourth quarter, including three from Victoria Chea.  Her last one created a 61-56 lead for the Lions with 34 seconds remaining in the game.
 
The Mustangs, who played their first home game in 19 days on Thursday evening, go back out on the road Saturday evening at Life Pacific University in a 5:30 p.m. start in San Dimas.
 
"I wholeheartedly believe in my team and I know its character will show up tomorrow in practice and through the remainder of the season," said Waldeck.  "The team we see over the next 10 games will reflect the resolve of how we respond from this loss."