For the eighth time this season, The Master's women's basketball team scored more than 80 points as they defeated the Lincoln University of California Oaklanders 84-75 Thursday night in The MacArthur Center.
The 84 points brought the team's season average up to 77.0, which leads the Golden State Athletic Conference.
The Lady Mustangs (15-3) led by as much as 22 in the closing moments of the third quarter before the Oaklanders cut the margin to nine with a tenacious fourth-quarter defense that forced several TMU turnovers.
The Master's shot 60% from the field in the first half to take a 46-35 lead into the locker room. That lead jumped to 73-53 by the end of the third, but Lincoln's defense in the final frame forced TMU to shoot just 4 of 15 (27%) for the quarter, allowing Lincoln to out-score the Lady Mustangs 22-11.
With 2:56 to play in the first quarter, The Master's held a two-point lead 12-10. But a pair of 3-pointers by
Chloe Auble helped propel TMU on an 11-4 run to close out the quarter with a nine-point lead.
The second quarter opened with the Lady Mustangs staying hot, scoring the first five points to increase their lead by 14. The Oaklanders cut it down to seven before TMU once again closed the quarter strong to take a double-digit lead into the half.
The third quarter followed the same pattern, getting to that 22-point lead with 28 seconds to play in the frame, before the fourth quarter Lincoln defense made its impact.
Nicole Chuang led the team with 19 points on 7 of 15 shooting, including a team-high three 3-pointers. She also dished a career-high eight assists.
Lexi Hernandez added 18 points with Belle Hernandez contributing 13. Auble came off the bench to grab a team-high seven rebounds (a career high for her) and added eight points.
The Master's will be back in The MacArthur Center this Saturday when they face GSAC opponent Hope Internation. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m.
