Madeline Cooke  had a career high in both points scored (15) and rebounds (17), but Vanguard proved the better team this night as the Lions defeated The Master’s 69-56 Saturday night in The MacArthur Center.

Cooke also added a career high in blocked shots in a game, swatting away five balls to improve her conference-leading total to 33 on the season.

“Cooke was incredible,” said head coach Lisa Zamrox. “She absolutely dominated the paint.”

Aside from Cooke, it was Vanguard’s defense that was the story, as the Lady Mustangs (12-5, 5-4 GSAC) shot just 32% from the field and only 5-of-25 (20%) from behind the 3-point line. The Master’s entered the game as the GSAC best shooting team from the field, averaging over 46%.

Another factor was the turnovers. TMU had 11 in the first quarter alone, another six in the second quarter before finishing with 25 in the game.

“We dug ourselves a big hole in the first half with turnovers and playing timid, Zamroz said. “(And we) just couldn’t get enough shots to fall tonight.”

Vanguard jumped out to a hot start before TMU battled back to tie it at 12-12 with 3:29 to play in the first quarter. That’s when the Lions scored 11 unanswered points to get the cushion they would ride the rest of the game. By the end of the first half Vanguard lead 38-24, and led by as much as 18 in the third quarter. But the Lady Mustangs started to battle, closing the gap to within six with 41 seconds to play in the third. But Vanguard went on an 8-0 run from the end of the third and into the fourth, to open a 14-point lead that finished as a 13-point win.

I’m really proud of our fight in the second half,” Zamroz said. “We’re getting better and we look forward to another opportunity to play them again in a few weeks.”

Ella Brubaker finished with a team-high 21 points.

The Master’s will next be on the road to Arizona to first play Arizona Christian and Thursday night followed by OUAZ on Saturday.