Lady Mustangs win OT thriller over Firestorm

It took overtime but The Master's women's basketball team came away with a 66-63 win over Arizona Christian Thursday night at The MacArthur Center.
 
The Mustangs (19-5, 6-4) led by as much as 12 in the third quarter, but ACU mounted a charge to erase that lead and finish regulation tied at 56-56. Both teams hit 3 of 7 from the field, but the difference was TMU made 4 of 6 from the free throw line while the Firestorm went 0 for 1.
 
"What a show of resiliency by our team," said TMU Head Coach Lisa Zamroz. "We had good momentum most of the game, but ACU stayed the course and things started going their way at the end of the third into the fourth. (ACU's Emily) Till got in a rhythm inside and (Alyssa) Alvarez found a way to get loose which put us on our heels a bit."
 
Till went 5 of 7 in the fourth quarter and pulled down four rebounds while Alvarez, ACU's leading scorer coming into the ball game, added four in the fourth.

The game started great for the Lady Mustangs as they opened up a 7-0 lead in the first 1:20 of the game. ACU came back on a 13-8 run, finished off with a 3-pointer at the buzzer, to make the first 10 minutes a 15-13 TMU lead.
 
The Master's was able to pad that lead by four to go into the locker room with a 31-25 advantage. And while the third quarter opened like the first, with TMU starting the period on a 6-0 run to lead by 12, the Firestorm closed out the third and started the fourth on a 21-9 run to not only erase the lead but to take their first lead of the game 48-46 with 6:35 to play.
 
With Arizona Christian holding a 56-54 lead with 43 seconds to play, Belle Hernandez made a layup to tie the game at 56. Maddie Cooke had two big rebounds and a blocked shot in the final seconds to help send the game into the overtime period.
 
"The leadership and belief within our players never wavered," Zamroz said. "It's a great thing to walk into a timeout that already has communication, adjustments, and encouragement happening."
 
Belle Hernandez finished with a game-high 24 points with Lexi Hernandez adding 10 and pulling down 14 rebounds. Cooke also finished with 14 rebounds and totaled six blocks as well as eight points.
 
The Master's will be back at The MacArthur Center Saturday as they host the Ottawa of Arizona Spirit. Tip-off is set for noon PT.