TMU Women's Basketball moved up four spots in the latest NAIA Coaches' Poll. They seem ready to move up a whole lot more.
The 20th-ranked Mustangs upset No. 1 Westmont College on the road to begin Golden State Athletic Conference play, 74-68, putting the rest of the NAIA on notice.
"I'm so proud of our team," Master's Head Coach
Lisa Zamroz said. "We've been looking to put together a full 40 minutes since we started the season. They picked a great time to come together and battle it out with a top-notch program."
Nine of TMU's 13 players maintain freshman eligibility, but the Mustangs looked far from youthful in holding a lead for the much of the game against the defending national champions and thwarting a late Warrior comeback bid.
"The girls worked so hard and didn't give up," said
Stephanie Soares, who posted her sixth-straight double-double (25 points, 17 rebounds). "We all played very poised and the energy from the bench transferred to the players on the court."
It was one of those nine underclassmen, Brubaker, who carried Master's out of the gate, scoring 15 of the team's 31 points in the opening half. Her buzzer-beating, pull-up 3-pointer gave TMU a six-point lead going into halftime. She finished with 22 points for the game, second-most on the team.
"Ella was clutch," Zamroz said. "She hit shots in timely, momentum-swinging moments in the game."
Master's then relied on one of its veterans in the second half, Soares, as she dominated with 17 of her game-high 25 points after halftime. The 2019-20 NAIA Player of the Year's 17 rebounds were 10 more than any other player. She helped Master's dominate the points in the paint, 34-12, and outrebound Westmont, 37-30.
"Our captains did an excellent job leading tonight and keeping us together when they made big plays," Zamroz said.
Two Soares free throws to begin the third quarter gave Master's its largest lead of the game, eight points, before the Warriors came back to tie the game with under two minutes to play in the third. A late flurry by
Giani Wimbish-Gay, a 3-pointer and then a steal she took coast-to-coast, restored TMU's advantage going into the fourth, 52-49.
Two Warrior free throws helped Westmont re-take the lead in the final quarter with 4:23 remaining, but a Brubaker floater and
Rebekah Throns free throw put the Mustangs back up by two.
Soares then blocked a go-ahead 3-point attempt before icing the game with eight points in the final minute, including six from the free-throw line.
"Westmont is a tough gym to play in and Kirsten Moore is one of the best in the business," Zamroz said, complimenting Westmont's legendary head coach. "Nothing but respect for them."
With the win, Master's improves to 6-0 overall and 1-0 in the GSAC.
"We just wanted to come out here and play selfless basketball, play together," Brubaker said. "We knew if we did those two things, we would give ourselves a chance."
TMU will take its unbeaten record back to Santa Clarita, where the Mustangs will play Bethesda on Tuesday at 1 p.m.
"We are excited to start conference play on a high note, but we still have a lot of work to do," Zamroz said. "This team has very high potential and we want to keep getting better every day to reach that full potential."
Soares echoed those comments, citing the team's need to take it one game at a time.
"It was a team effort and everyone played their part, but now we have to stay focused on the next game," Soares said.
Sounds like the mindset of a team that's just getting started.
