Game Recap By Don Gilmore, TMU Assistant SID

A prolonged break from play is something coaches and players don’t look forward to.

Especially, when your team is on a roll like The Master’s University was until the Christmas holidays put a gap in the 2018-19 schedule.

Winners of four of five before taking nine days off, the Mustangs returned to the court Saturday evening and gave coach Dan Waldeck something to be encouraged about in a 91-39 victory over visiting La Sierra.

“It was good to get back on the court and get some rhythm after the break,” Waldeck said. “I thought we rebounded fairly well and shared the ball effectively.”

The 22nd-ranked Mustangs out-rebounded the Golden Eagles 51-30 and had 25 assists on 34 baskets en route to their 10th victory of the season.

They wasted little time in shaking off the vacation rust, racing to a 31-8 lead after one quarter of play.

Freshman Stephanie Soares, who enjoyed another monster evening, hit all four of her shots and had eight points in the first stanza to propel her team to a comfortable advantage.

Soares wound up with a game-high 15 points and posted her ninth double-double of the season with a season-high 21 rebounds.

She also blocked eight shots and her season total of 73 is a single-season program record already, just 14 games in. She broke the old standard of 70 set by Bianca Cubello during the 2016-17 campaign.

Soares had plenty of help from teammates, who vaulted the Mustangs to a 51-20 lead at halftime and 76-30 advantage after three quarters.

The scope of the win gave Waldeck the luxury of getting all of his players involved.

“We got to see multiple lineups in game action that hadn’t played much together,” the 11th-year head coach said.

Sophomore Anika Neuman scored 14 points, some of those coming on wide-open cuts to the basket.

Senior Jamilee Iddings and junior Brooke Bailey posted 12 points apiece as the bench accounted for over half (46) of the team’s total.

Here’s the box score.

The overwhelming victory didn’t keep Waldeck from realizing what his team needs to work on and where they’re headed over the next two months.

“We have a couple more practices to lock down some of the weak spots before jumping back in to conference play,” he said.

The Mustangs resume GSAC action Thursday when they host William Jessup at 5:30 p.m., then they turn around less than 48 hours later to welcome No. 14 Menlo to Bross Court.