TMU's record start to a season ends with loss to defending NAIA champions

Third-ranked TMU Women's Basketball suffered its first loss of the 2022 season at the hands of the defending NAIA national champions and fifth-ranked Westmont College, 49-64, on Saturday night inside The MacArthur Center.
 
The defeat ended the Mustangs' 22-0 start to the campaign, the team's best-ever start to a season in program history, which included a win at then No. 1 Westmont on Nov. 20.
 
"Westmont came out with something to prove and we played timidly for too long," said Master's Head Coach Lisa Zamroz, who lost a regular season game for the first time at the helm of the Mustangs. "It's good for us to learn hard lessons during the regular season to make adjustments before postseason play."
 
The visiting Warriors came out flying on a 14-2 start. TMU responded with an 8-0 run, on baskets from four different Mustangs, to get to within four before a Westmont 3-pointer gave the visitors a seven-point advantage after the first quarter.
 
A triple for Giani Wimbish-Gay to open the second quarter immediately brought Master's back to within four, before a jumper from Rebekah Throns (six points, eight rebounds, six assists) and another 3-pointer from Wimbish-Gay later in the period reduced TMU's deficit to three.
 
Westmont then proceeded to finish the half on a 9-0 run over the final 1:44, giving the Warriors a 12-point halftime lead.
 
The visitors maintained their double-digit advantage for much of the second half, before Lexi Hernandez and Stephanie Soares (20 points, 13 rebounds) connected three times, giving TMU some hope of a possible comeback down the stretch.
 
A triple from Ella Brubaker (13 points) with under two minutes to go brought Master's to within single digits, but the Warriors showcased their big-game capabilities in closing out the contest, tightening the Mustangs' lead atop the Golden State Athletic Conference standings.
 
Master's currently leads Hope International by a half game and Westmont by one game, entering the final stretch of the conference season, beginning with TMU's trip to face Hope on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
 
"We'll grow and get better from it," Zamroz said of the team's first loss of the season. "We're looking forward to our next opportunity at Hope on Thursday night."