Three players scored in double digits but it was not enough as The Master's women's basketball team fell to the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers 66-58 Saturday at the Caldwell Classic in Caldwell, Idaho.
While both teams turned the ball over 18 times, it was the undefeated Mounties who capitalized most with 21 points off turnovers compared to 12 for the Lady Mustangs (3-5).
Master's shot a respectable 39% from the field, including 7 of 19 from 3-point range, but it was EOU that grabbed the advantage in rebounds 39-29 and shooting 44%.
"We played much better than last night," Head Coach Fonda Wilson said. "We were able to hold them to 66 points and our defense was great tonight, but offense just didn't produce enough."
The difference truly came down to the fourth quarter after the two teams battled to a 29-29 halftime score.
Abbie Mullins scored 14 in that first half off four 3s and a pair of free throws to lead TMU in the first 20 minutes.
The third quarter looked even better as
Alli VanKooten dropped seven points to give Master's a 1-point advantage going into the final 10 minutes of action.
After VanKooten started the quarter with a layup to put TMU up 46-43, the Mounties took over. They shot 9 of 13 (69%) in the quarter, including a pair of momentum-swinging 3s, to open up as much as a 10-point lead with 1:48 to play. And even though the Lady Mustangs shot better than 54% in the period, they could not overcome EOU's offensive explosion.
VanKooten led TMU with 17 points followed by Mullins with a career-high 16. Bella Forker was the third Lady Mustangs in double figures with 12.
The Master's will take a break for the Thanksgiving holiday before returning to the friendly confines of The MacArthur Center on Thursday, Dec. 4 when they open up conference play against the OUAZ Spirit. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.
