Lady Mustangs get road win over Hope Int'l

Nicole Chuang scored a career-high 29 points to lead The Master's women's basketball team to an 80-71 victory on the road at Hope International Saturday.
 
Chuang hit eight 3-pointers, also a career high, and converted 5 of 6 free throws for her 29 points. She also pulled down five rebounds and added a pair of assists.

"Nicole was lights out today," TMU Head Coach Lisa Zamroz said. "She tore the lid off for us from three in the first half. Our offense looked about as good as it has all season for the first 20 minutes. Problem was we couldn't find a way from stopping them from doing the same thing."

The Lady Mustangs (21-5, 8-4) jumped out to a quick 7-0 start, maintaining the lead throughout the first quarter, and even stretching it to 12 points.
 
But the Royals clawed back, going on a 22-8 run to take their first lead 39-37 with 2:44 to play in the first half. A 3-pointer by Abbie Mullins gave TMU the lead 42-39 before HIU answered with a three of their own to send the teams to the locker room tied at 42-42.
 
The third period went back and forth, with the Royals closing out the period on an 8-3 run to take a 66-61 lead going into the final 10 minutes.
 
But that final period may have been the best defensive quarter for the Lady Mustangs all season.
 
The Master's rattled off 17 unanswered points, not allowing the Royals to score until there was 37 seconds left to play, to win the quarter 19-5 and come away from Fullerton with a nine-point road win.

"That was the difference in the game," Zamroz said. "It's a huge win for us. To play nearly the whole game frustrated defensively and then have the mental toughness and desire to make a stand in the toughest moments of the game was huge."

In that fourth quarter, TMU's defense held HIU to 2 of 16 (13%) from the field, and 1 of 7 (14%) from 3-point range.

Following Chuang's career day, Belle Hernandez finished with 12 points and a team-high six assists, with Lexi Hernandez draining 10. Maddie Cooke had eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
 
The Master's will have two more games to close out the regular season, and both of them will be at home in The MacArthur Center. Thursday's game against Jessup will start at 5:30 p.m. It will be senior night, with the Lady Mustangs celebrating their seniors on the court after the game and before the start of the men's game.