The Master’s University women’s basketball team traveled down to Los Angeles Sunday for an exhibition game against NCAA Division I Loyola Marymount, coming up on the short end of the 58-46 score.

The Lady Mustangs had the lead 10-9 after the first quarter, and led 25-23 at the half. But the Lions roared back in the third quarter, out-scoring TMU 20-9 in the frame and then followed that up with a 15-12 advantage in the final quarter to win by 12.

“I loved how we competed today,” said TMU head coach Lisa Zamroz. “Going into the half with the lead we knew they would come out with a strong third quarter push. We hit a scoring slump and momentum shifted. Proud of the way we fought. We took a season-high three charges today and forced a 10-second call in the last 30 seconds of the game. Those are the type of gritty passion plays we look to continue to build on.”

The Lady Mustangs were held to 35% shooting from the field and just 3 of 15 from long range. But the defense held LMU to just 33% from the field on only 4 of 17 from behind the arc.

Maddie Cooke was spectacular on defense, pulling down 17 rebounds and adding five blocks. Belle Hernandez led the team in scoring with 15 points.

“These games are such great learning experiences for us and breeds more confidence each time we show we can compete on higher levels,” Zamroz said.

The Master’s, receiving votes for the NAIA Top 25, will next travel to Arizona for the Cactus Classic from Dec. 20-22. They will play Montana Western and MidAmerica Nazarene, each of which are also receiving votes on the national poll, as well as Montana Tech.