Lexi Hernandez had her first career triple-double and Ella Brubaker had a game-high 26 points as Master's won their season opener 97-76 over the La Sierra Golden Eagles Thursday night in The MacArthur Center.
The Lady Mustangs had control of this one from the opening tip jumping out to a 14-2 lead in the first four minutes of the game. Master's had 18-point leads in the first half that ballooned to a 24-point lead in the second half. They finished the game 40-of-72 from the field (55.6%), 9-of-23 (39.1%) from 3-point range, and 8-of-13 from the free throw line.
"We looked much more like ourselves tonight offensively," said Master's Head Coach Lisa Zamroz. "We were the aggressor and played with confidence. We are starting to see the rewards of running our offense and spacing the floor. However, our defense gave up 76 points. We have much work to do in fine tuning our concepts with new players."
Lexi finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to get her triple-double. Her sister Belle, in her Lady Mustang debut, almost joined her to become the first sisters to each get a triple-double. Belle finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
"So proud of Lexi and her first career triple-double," Zamroz said. "She is such a steady player with a high IQ to make the right play."
Marin Lenz, also in her Master's debut, poured in 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting and added four 3-pointers, Jayla Julmist tied her career-high of 10 points, making five different Lady Mustangs to score in double figures.
"Overall, I think we took a big step forward tonight in forming our chemistry," Coach Zamroz said.
Master's will be back home on Saturday as they face NCAA Division 2 Pt. Loma Nazarene in an exhibition game. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.
