Women's basketball locks down on defense in win over Jessup

When Master's head coach Dan Waldeck was asked what he thought went well during Saturday's game, one thing immediately came to mind.
 
"Our defense was outstanding," he said. "We worked together, we covered for each other, we were relentless."
 
That relentless defense helped fuel the Mustangs' 75-45 victory against the William Jessup Warriors at the MacArthur Center on Saturday, marking the fourth-straight victory at home in just over a week.
 
Saturday also marked the fourth time in five games that Master's was able to hold its opponents to fewer than 50 points.
 
"Really proud of my team," Waldeck said. "People are playing with more and more confidence up and down the lineup."
 
Sophomore Stephanie Soares recorded game highs of 27 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. Anika Neuman and Brooke Bailey also reached double figures, scoring 11 and 10 points respectively.
 
Soares made 13 of the 20 shots attempted. She scored 15 points in the first half to help lead the Mustangs to a 38-22 lead at the break.
 
The Mustangs continued to find the bottom of the hoop throughout the second half, making just over 61 percent of their shots in the fourth quarter alone.
 
"You're going to win a lot of games if you shoot like that," Waldeck said.
 
The No. 3 ranked Mustangs continue to share the top of the Golden State Athletic Conference standings with Westmont, with both teams at 12-1 in conference play. They'll meet for the second time this season on Feb. 22 at TMU. But the Mustangs have plenty of challenges to focus on between now and then.
 
Master's will travel to Fullerton on Tuesday to face Hope International University before taking on San Diego Christian on Thursday in a game that will be hosted at Vanguard University.