By Don Gilmore, TMU Assistant Sports Information Director

It would be easy to say The Master’s University women’s basketball team suffered a letdown Saturday evening.

Just two nights ago, the Mustangs beat Vanguard, the nation’s second-ranked squad, in decisive fashion.

However, calling Saturday night’s 81-59 loss to Hope International a letdown might be an insult to TMU’s mental toughness and the Royals’ solid play.

One thing is for certain, though. The club’s second loss in three games means the Mustangs have work to do if they want to secure a place in the postseason.

The Mustangs (13-6 overall) are tied with Hope International for fifth place in the conference at 3-4, just a game ahead of seventh-place William Jessup. The top six teams qualify for the GSAC Tournament that starts in early March.

TMU arrived at this point after being unable to contain the Royals over the final three quarters.

The opening stanza was no problem for the Mustangs as they rode Anika Neuman’s inside-outside game to an 18-16 lead after 10 minutes.The freshman post powered her way in the paint and then showed her outside skills, too, en route to 11 first-quarter points.

In the second quarter, Neuman’s Royal counterpart, Emma Forel, took the spotlight along with her hot-shooting teammates. The freshman standout scored the period’s first four points to put the Royals ahead 20-18 and then consecutive 3-pointers from Vanessa DeSimone, Chyann Pendergrass, and Rhiana Dougan pushed the margin to 29-25.

That last trey sparked an 8-0 quarter-closing run that gave the Royals a 34-25 lead at the break. Forel scored the final five points of that burst.

The intermission didn’t slow down the Royals, either, as Forel scored on a jumper and a layup, and Dougan drained a couple of threes as HIU forged a 44-29 lead with 6:52 left in the third.

On the brink of letting the game slip away, the Mustangs responded in furious fashion, ripping off nine straight points and eventually outscoring Hope 17-4 in a 4:36 span to pull within 48-46 at the 1:11 mark of the third quarter.

Sophomore Brooke Bailey ignited the charge with a couple of charity tosses and then ended it with a 3-pointer that brought a hopeful Bross Court crowd to life. In between, she added a jumper and two more 3-pointers to punctuate a 13-point quarter.

However, Dougan stopped the momentum with another trifecta, and Lauren Davis’ bucket with 18 seconds remaining gave the Royals a 53-46 edge heading into the final quarter.

The last stanza belonged to the Royals, who surged to a double-digit lead (57-46), held off a mid-quarter rush by the Mustangs, and then finished off the hosts with a 12-5 spurt over the final four minutes.

Forel, who finished with a game-high 28 points, scored nine of those in the final quarter while her teammates buried three more shots from behind the arc for good measure.

Hope wound up with 10 threes.

Neuman paced the Mustangs with 18 points, and Bailey was the only other Mustang in double figures with 16.

After going 2-2 during their four-game homestand, the Mustangs head north next weekend for a pivotal two-game trip that has postseason implications. On Thursday, they’ll play at William Jessup and then two days later they’ll travel to No. 15 Menlo.