It had to go to overtime but The Master’s University women’s basketball team was able to come out on top 70-67 to defeat the Hope International Royals Tuesday night, Feb. 3 in The MacArthur Center and take over first place in the GSAC.

The Lady Mustangs’ defense, which entered the game ranked No. 6 in the nation against scoring, allowing just 52.0 points per game, held the Royals to two of eight shooting in the five-minute overtime period to grab the three-point victory.

“Tonight was huge,” said TMU Head Coach Fonda Wilson. “It was the biggest game of the season so far and a great win for us. I’m so impressed by our girls. Everyone showed up tonight and played their heart out.”

In the first game against Hope International played in Fullerton, the Royals out-scored the Mustangs 24-8. Not so Tuesday night as it was The Master’s that grabbed a 20-14 lead at the end of the first 10 minutes, punctuated by Abbie Mullins hitting a buzzer-beating, half-court three-pointer. Mullins finished with a team-high four threes in the game.

Mullins was playing with a heavy heart as her grandfather passed away a few days before, something she shared with her teammates who rallied around her vowing to win the game for “Papa Rick.”

“Abbie Mullins was the game changer for us,” Wilson said. “She started out hot from the three-point line and shot so well. This was the best game of her life and she wanted to win so bad. Unfortunately, Abbie’s grandpa passed away this week so we were all playing for him. I think she honored him so well tonight. All of the girls did. We are family and tonight was bigger than basketball.”

The six-point first quarter stayed at six points at the half, but opened up to a nine-point lead by the end of the third.

The Royals scored the final four points of the fourth quarter to tie it at 62-62 with 45 seconds to play. A missed layup by The Master’s gave HIU the ball with 17 seconds to play.

After a timeout, the Royals worked the ball inside to Amira Austin, who turned to shoot just as the buzzer went off and made the shot, sending the Hope International bench into a frenzy.

But the officials waved off the shot saying the clock went to 0:00 before the ball left her fingertips.

In overtime, Mullins hit a three-pointer 25 seconds into the extra frame, and while Hope was able to claw back and tie the game at 67-67 with 1:35 to play, an Allie Miller layup followed by an Alli VanKooten free throw, sealed the win and the jump into first place for the Lady Mustangs.

“We asked a lot of the girls tonight, physically and mentally,” Wilson said. “They all showed up and played four-and-a-half solid quarters. Kylin (DeVries) also had a huge impact in tonight’s game. Her defense is relentless and she always gives 110 percent. Glad we got the win tonight, the girls earned it.”

Bella Forker led TMU with 18 points and also had five steals to move her total up to 67 for the season, tops in the GSAC. Mullins finished with 16 and Chloe Auble added 15. VanKooten pulled down 17 rebounds in the game with Miller dishing a game-high seven assists.

The Master’s will head out for a single game in Arizona Thursday night, Feb. 5 against the Embry-Riddle Eagles in Prescott. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. PST.

For more information visit GoMustangs.com.