An 11-point difference in the fourth quarter brought The Master's women's basketball team from down by double digits to come back and snatch a 58-57 win over OUAZ Saturday afternoon in The MacArthur Center.
 Spirit led by 10 at the end of the third, but the Lady Mustangs (20-5, 7-4) out-scored OUAZ 19-8 in the final frame to get the one-point win.
"We certainly didn't deserve that one, but grateful to have done enough to walk away with the win," said Lisa Zamroz, head coach of TMU's women's basketball. "There is still a lot on the table we believe we are capable to accomplish. Taking care of business this week was another big step in the right direction."
The win keeps TMU in the hunt for a conference championship. The team is currently tied for third with Jessup, two games behind both Vanguard and Menlo with three games to play.
The game started about as well as could be expected, with The Master's jumping out to a 22-9 first quarter lead behind seven points from Belle Hernandez. But the Spirit responded with an even better second quarter, out-scoring the Lady Mustangs 25-10 to go into the locker room with a 34-32 lead.
OUAZ continued the pressure in the third period with an even better defense, holding TMU to just seven points in the quarter to go up by 10. But at the start of the final quarter, The Master's went on an 8-3 run in the first 2:41 to get to within five. After an OUAZ jumper stretched the lead back to seven, TMU went on a 9-0 run to take the lead 56-54 with 1:20 to play. Free throws down the stretch, and a huge block by Belle Hernandez with seven seconds to play, sealed the victory for the Lady Mustangs.
Lexi Hernandez had a team-high 14 points and also pulled down 10 rebounds. Belle Hernandez finished with 12 and Nicole Chung added 10. Maddie Cooke also had 10 rebounds to go with six blocks and six points.
The Master's won't play again until Saturday when they travel to Fullerton, Calif. to take on Hope International. Tip-off is at noon.
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