A close first half slipped away in the second as The Master's women's basketball team lost to the Menlo Oaks 96-83 Thursday night in Atherton, Calif.
The game was tied 36-36 at the half, but the Oaks jumped out to a 62-51 lead at the end of the third that they expanded through the fourth to get the 13-point win.
"We started the game with a strong first quarter after several games coming out flat," said Head Coach Lisa Zamroz. "Unfortunately we couldn't maintain our intensity in the right ways and Menlo shot very high percentages in the quarters that followed."
The Lady Mustangs (15-5, 2-4) shot 43% in the first half, but that number shrunk to 5 of 14 (35%) in the third while Menlo shot 12 of 17 (71%).
The Oaks lead grew to 18 with 3:41 to play in the game before TMU finished with a flurry. The Lady Mustangs shot 13 of 24 (54%) in the final frame, but it was not enough to overcome Menlo's margin.
"Menlo is the most well rounded team we've seen in conference so far," Zamroz said. "We've got to find a way to put together four quarters."
Marin Lenz led the Mustangs with 30 points on 13 of 22 shooting, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
Lexi Hernandez added 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds, with Belle Hernandez scoring 10.
The Master's will now travel to Rocklin, Calif. to take on Jessup University on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for noon.
