No. 4 Mustang women's basketball earns 27th win

As the final seconds of the third quarter ticked away, Rebekah Throns stole an inbounds pass under the Mustangs' basket and fired the ball outside the arc to Madi Hull. Hull swished a buzzer-beating three-pointer.

As Throns jogged to the sideline, Master's assistant coach Greg Hayes pretended as if he was going to jump and bump shoulders with the junior forward. There was plenty to be excited about. The Mustangs had locked-in on defense, shaken off a second-quarter cold spell and were well on their way to an 80-53 win inside the MacArthur Center.

The victory was TMU's 27th of the year, a number previously achieved by only three teams in program history. 

No. 4 Master's (27-2, 15-2 GSAC) can match its season record for wins Saturday when it travels to face No. 6 Vanguard University (22-4, 14-3) in a regular season finale full of playoff implications. The winner will receive a first-round bye in next week's Golden State Athletic Conference tournament at Westmont.

Thursday, Stephanie Soares led Master's with 24 points and 15 rebounds. The sophomore center made her first six shots and proved mostly unstoppable inside the paint. She also stepped outside for a three-pointer.

Sabrina Thompson followed with 15 points and four assists, and Hannah Ostrom added 14 points for the Mustangs, who pulled away with a dominant third quarter after leading by only 10 at halftime.  

The Warriors (7-20, 3-14) made seven of the 13 threes they attempted in the game's first 20 minutes, beating TMU's zone for open looks. But Master's tightened things up after the break, holding their guests to four made field goals in the third quarter and 37% shooting for the game.

That meant the Mustangs have still only allowed one opponent to surpass 40% from the floor in a game this season.  

"We just needed to stay a little more connected and trust our help side," said Master's head coach Dan Waldeck. "We did a better job in the second half."

The Warriors made four three-pointers after intermission but attempted just five, a result, Ostrom said, of the Mustangs not helping off of shooters as often.

Master's struggled to find its own success from distance, making just 4-of-26 three-point tries. But the Mustangs shot 56% from the floor in the third quarter and made six of seven free throws. They outscored the Warriors 25-11 in the frame to build a comfortable lead. 

In all, Master's outscored Life Pacific 58-20 in the paint and had 15 second chance points to none for the Warriors.  

"We struggled from the field, but I loved our demeanor and togetherness," Waldeck said. "To have 23 assists and only six turnovers was great. I also loved how many different players were hunting their shots and contributing."

Mustang Anika Neuman finished with eight points, five rebounds and four assists, and Jessica Soares had seven points and six rebounds.

Hull and Throns had five points each as the Mustangs avoided losing back-to-back games for the first time in nearly two years.

Master's scored a season-low 44 points in a loss to Westmont on Saturday that all but ended TMU's hopes of a second consecutive GSAC regular season title. But Waldeck was confident his team would bounce back strong, and they did.

"We just wanted to play together and be able to encourage each other more on the court," Soares said of the Mustangs' focus Thursday. "Sometimes it's hard when you're not playing well, so we just wanted to focus on lifting each other up."