A strong fourth quarter turned a close game into The Master’s University favor as the women’s basketball team defeated the Hope International Royals 75-61 Thursday night in the first round of the GSAC Championship Tournament being played in Atherton, Calif.

The Lady Mustangs (23-6) turned a 2-point deficit at the half into a 1-point lead at the end of the third quarter. That’s when TMU poured it on, out-scoring the Royals 24-11 in the final frame to get the 14-point win.

“Thankful to play another day,” said, Lisa Zamroz, TMU head coach. “We played pretty tight throughout the first half, let them get rolling from (beyond the 3-point line) and gave up seven offensive rebounds. We knew we needed a big change defensively the second half and (our players) delivered in a big way.”

The Master’s shot 7-for-14 (50%) in the fourth quarter and held HIU to just 4-of-15 (27%). Plus the team went 8-for-10 from the free throw line. GSAC Freshman of the Year Nicole Chuang scored eight of her 20 points in those final 10 minutes of action.

The Mustangs opened up that fourth quarter on a 9-0 run to go up by 10, and didn’t let the Royals score until the 6:05 mark of the period. Then it was a layup by Lexi Hernandez and a 3-pointer by Chuang to open up the double-digit lead they would never give up.

Overall, TMU shot better than 41% from the field and hit 11 of 28 from behind the 3-point arc. The Lady Mustangs also out-rebounded the Royals 49-32.

“Our bench gave us a ton of life tonight on both ends,” Zamroz said. “At the end of the day this group is just hungry and loves playing together. They are giving everything they have to keep this season going.”

Belle Hernandez joined Chuang with 20 points in the game, with GSAC Defender of the Year Maddie Cooke scoring 10 while also pulling down 10 rebounds and getting a block.

The Master’s will now face No.2-seed Menlo Friday night in the semifinals. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.