The Master’s University women’s basketball team scored 28 points in the fourth quarter and held Benedictine Mesa to just 11 to come from behind and beat the Redhawks 70-58 Saturday, Feb. 8 in The MacArthur Center.

The Lady Mustangs (15-7, 8-3) trailed by as much as nine points with 2:03 to play in the third quarter before rallying to get the victory.

“We started slow but found our rhythm in the fourth quarter,” said TMU Head Coach Fonda Wilson. “The bench stepped up once again, with Abby (Mullins) playing a crucial role alongside Laney (Grider).”

In the final 12:03 of the game, TMU out scored BenU 33-12 after trailing 46-37 in that third period.

The Master’s struggled from the field until that final quarter, hitting just 16 of 54 from the field during the first three quarters. But in that final frame they hit seven of 16 (44 percent) and held the Redhawks to four of 19 (21 percent) and 0 for seven from three-point range.

The first quarter was tied 14-14, but as the second quarter was winding down, BenU had as much as a nine-point lead. The Lady Mustangs scored the final six points of the half, but none were more dramatic than Alli VanKooten getting a steal with two seconds to go and hitting the shot at the buzzer to help close the halftime gap to 28-25.

In the third quarter TMU came out a different team, scoring the first four points to go up by one. But the Redhawks answered with an 8-0 run to reassert themselves once again, a pattern they had through the second quarter. Three times The Master’s found themselves down by nine in that third period.

That’s when the team went on its finishing run to get the 12-point win.

The victory keeps the Lady Mustangs firmly in second place in the GSAC, two games behind first place Arizona Christian and two games in front of Park-Gilbert. With three games to play in the season, a berth in the conference tournament, not to mention the possibility of hosting that tournament should TMU win out and ACU lose out, is still on the line.

The Master’s will next travel to Prescott, Ariz. Wednesday, Feb. 12 to take on the Embry-Riddle Eagles, a team they defeated 74-51 in The MacArthur Center on Jan. 25. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. PT.

For more information visit GoMustangs.com.