Facing a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit with just under eight minutes to play, The Master's women's basketball team (5-2 overall, 3-0 GSAC) stormed back with a 21-4 run to defeat Arizona Christian (8-5, 2-3), 66-56, on Friday afternoon inside The MacArthur Center.
"The word for the day was control – control the boards, control the paint, control our emotions, control our bodies," Master's head coach
Dan Waldeck said. "All the little things. I thought they regained that in the fourth quarter when they could have rolled when we were down seven. To make the run they did, I'm excited for them."
After being outscored by three in the first quarter, The Master's began to gain control of the game in the second. The Mustangs shot five for 11 from behind the arc in the second quarter, with
Rebekah Throns and
Olivia Prettyman each knocking down two triples apiece, to take a 32-28 lead into halftime.
"I thought we did a much better job of moving the ball in the second quarter," Waldeck said. "We got some inside touches and some scoring in the paint, which opened some things up on the perimeter. We have very capable 3-point shooters.
"Our percentages haven't showed it throughout the season as of yet, but in a small sample size, it's hard to know how good a team is shooting the 3. I always say numbers come back around and I think for some of the girls that proved true."
An
Anika Neuman jumper gave Master's a six-point advantage to begin the second half, but three Mustang turnovers allowed the Firestorm to creep back and tie the game heading into the fourth quarter.
"We looked a little stumbly in that third quarter," Waldeck said. "We were sleep-walking a little, so it was more if we could get back control."
That didn't look likely at the beginning of the fourth, when the Firestorm opened the final period with a 7-0 run. That's when the Mustangs began their charge, keyed by some timely 3-point shooting from
Ella Brubaker.
"My assistant did great," Waldeck said in reference to
Sydney Emory. "She said, 'Let's put some fresh, scoring legs in.' We got Ella in the game and she hit two huge 3's. She's super talented. She's been coming off injury, so we didn't know what she was going to be able to give in just a few minutes."
Waldeck also credited his team's defense for slowing down the Arizona Christian offense.
"I thought our defense really fueled it," Waldeck said. "We got some key stops, hit a couple key shots. Then the belief started to rise."
That belief carried the team the rest of the quarter on its way to a 10-point victory, a third-straight conference win for The Master's. Throns recorded a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Mustangs.
"She's been amazing," Waldeck said. "Thank the Lord she's coming back for another year. She's been doing a lot of the little things for us."
Prettyman and
Tristen Coltom joined Throns in double figures with 14 and 10 points respectively.
Jessica Soares added seven points and 15 rebounds.
"Jess has been awesome in the paint," Waldeck said. "Our seniors have been tough."
Not only have the seniors been tough, but so has the entire team, battling through injury in recent weeks.
"In the last three weeks, we've had four injuries that sidelined key players," Waldeck said. "Each one of those could have just decimated them emotionally. We know that we can't control that. We know that the Lord is in control of our health and welfare, so we're just going to try and give our best.
"Those girls have had a resolve and resiliency about them. Give our best to the Lord and whatever happens, happens."
The win Friday avenged a 66-79 nonconference loss to Arizona Christian on Jan. 9.
"For us, it's never about trying to beat someone who beat you, it's about trying to improve every day," Waldeck said. "The last three weeks since we got back have been all about getting a little better every day.
"What that looks like now looks different than it did three weeks ago because of the bodies that are out there. I thought we played better. We were tougher. We had a little more grit about us and we have more of an identity now."
The two teams will decide the season series in less than 24 hours on Saturday, when they return to Bross Court at 1:00 p.m.
"We've never had to do this before this year, a back-to-back like this against the same team," Waldeck said. "We have to figure out how to adjust quickly to whatever they throw at us and we have to adjust on the fly too to throw something different at them.
"We know personnel and schemes for the most part. There might be a little different stuff. We just have to be better at what we do and fight through."
