Master's holds off late Vanguard comeback to advance to GSAC semifinals

TMU Women's Basketball had its Senior Night spoiled by Vanguard University a couple weeks ago. The Lions came very close to repeating the feat in the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday night.
 
Seventh-seeded Vanguard outscored second-seeded Master's by 12 points in the fourth quarter, but the Mustangs held on for a 69-66 victory to advance to Friday's semifinals against third-seeded Hope International University.
 
"I thought we competed well through three quarters," Master's Head Coach Lisa Zamroz said. "We need to break the habit of relaxing in the fourth after battling for a lead."
 
In a closely-contested first half, Stephanie Soares' 12 points through one-and-a-half quarters helped Master's hold a slim 26-25 advantage.
 
"Steph got us going in the first half," Zamroz said. "It was very physical in the paint and it continued throughout the whole game."
 
Then the Mustangs held the Lions scoreless for three-and-a-half minutes, during which Rebekah Throns converted an and-one before three 3-point plays from Ella Brubaker gave Master's a double-digit lead going into the half, 42-29.
 
"Ella reintroduced herself after a shooting slump the past few weeks," Zamroz said. "Great players keep competing and work their way out which is what she's done."
 
Giani Wimbish-Gay then helped to extend TMU's advantage slightly with 10 third-quarter points.
 
"Giani was huge for us attacking downhill and finishing in the paint," Zamroz said.
 
With Master's holding a 61-46 lead going into the fourth, the well began to dry up for the Mustangs offensively, with Vanguard not allowing TMU to score for an almost six-minute stretch.
 
The Lions battled back to make it a one-possession game with under a minute to play and had a chance to cut their deficit to just two with 25 seconds remaining, but the Mustangs corralled the defensive rebound and were able to hold off the visitors' late comeback bid.
 
Brubaker led TMU with 20 points, while Giani Wimbish-Gay poured in a career-high 17 points. Soares recorded a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds.
 
Master's (27-3 overall) will now take on Hope International at 7:15 p.m. on Friday night inside The MacArthur Center for a chance to play in the GSAC Tournament Championship on Saturday.
 
The Mustangs and Royals split their two matchups this season, with TMU winning 61-54 at home on Dec. 9 before HIU won the return fixture on Feb. 3 by a score of 72-62.