FULLERTON, Calif. – In a banner day for The Master’s College women’s basketball team, the 17th-ranked Lady Mustangs took down the seventh-ranked Vanguard University Lions 60-54 in the 2015 Women’s Basketball GSAC Tournament Championship game at Hope International University in Fullerton.

The win improves the Lady Mustangs’ overall record to 24-8.  In addition, TMC earns the conference’s automatic bid to the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship Tournament.

Notably, Tuesday’s victory marks the third time the Lady Mustangs claimed a GSAC Tournament tile as TMC earned championship status in 2003 and 2006. Last season, the Lady Mustangs narrowly fell to Hope International University 64-59 in the conference tournament title game.

“This one is for the Lord,” commented seventh-year head coach Dan Waldeck. “He has brought together an amazing group of girls that love Him and honor Him in everything they do. I am humbled by this team’s grit to pull out a game against a resilient Vanguard club. Russ [Davis] is a great coach and does things the right way. It’s an honor to coach against great teams, programs, and coaches.”

The evening started as a low-scoring affair with both teams sitting in single-digits in the opening seven minutes of play.

The fourth-seeded Lady Mustangs led the second-seeded Lions for the better part of the first half until a three-pointer from Vanguard’s Gionni Blankenship put them up 14-12 at the 11:09 mark.

TMC’s Olivia Thompson (Huntington Beach, CA) answered back a minute later by scoring a three-pointer of her own, giving the Lady Mustangs 15-14 lead.

Over the next 10 minutes, the two teams swapped leads a handful of times until halftime where the Lions led TMC 24-21.

At intermission, Bianca Cubello (Riverside, CA) led the Lady Mustangs in scoring with five points, while Chayan Lowery (Spring Valley, CA) yanked down a team-high five rebounds. As a team, the Lady Mustangs shot 41% from the field, 20% from behind the arc, and 50% from the charity stripe.

The second half opened with Vanguard’s Maya Kennedy scoring off a jumper, giving the Pride a 26-21 lead 21 seconds into play.

Unfazed by the Lions’ lead, TMC responded with an 11-0 scoring run.

With a 32-26 advantage at the 16:10 mark, things were starting to look up for the Lady Mustangs.

Despite a pair of scares at the 13:09 and 11:58 marks when the Lions cut TMC’s lead to two points (34-32, 36-35), sharp-shooting from Nicole Nitake (Torrance, CA) kept the Lady Mustangs ahead for the rest of the game. While Nitake scored five three-pointers in the second half, TMC’s Thompson gave the Lady Mustangs a game-high nine-point lead at the 7:22 mark when the junior guard scored off a trey, giving the Blue and Gold a 46-37 advantage.

Nitake highlighted TMC’s scoring efforts by posting a team-high 19 points. The junior guard finished the night by going 5-10 from the field, 5-9 from behind the arc, and a perfect 4-4 on free throws. Continuing her stellar play from the first half, Cubello followed Nitake by draining 11 points. Both Arianna Hanson (Santa Rosa, CA) and Lowery finished the evening with five caroms.

As a team, the Lady Mustangs finished the evening by going 21-44 from the field (48%), 8-18 (44%) on three-pointers, and a sparkling 10-11 (91%) on free throws. Notably, TMC grabbed 27 rebounds while Vanguard claimed 30. The Lady Mustangs also posted 10 assists and seven steals.

“Nicole and Bianca stepped up big and scored some huge baskets for us, but it was our defense and second half rebounding that gave us the victory,” further assessed Waldeck. “I’m very thankful for so many people that contribute to our team’s success. To win a GSAC championship at a school like TMC doesn’t get any better!”

Now, based off its No. 17 national ranking, the Lady Mustangs eye a favorable seed at next week’s NAIA National tournament, based in Independence, Missouri.

Tomorrow, the final regular-season edition of the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 – used to decide the at-large teams for the upcoming NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship, presented by Susan G. Komen Great Kansas City, will be revealed. Qualifiers and the final Top 25 Poll will be announced at 1 p.m. onwww.NAIA.org, while the bracket announcement will take place via a live video show at 5 p.m. onwww.NAIANetwork.com.