Game Recap By Mason Nesbitt, TMU Sports Information Director

SANTA BARBARA — Two months from now, the Mustangs will return here to play Westmont College in what should be a crucial conference matchup.

Wednesday, TMU was only trying to finish a vicious run of three games in three days on a high note before dispersing for Christmas break.

The Mustangs succeeded on that front, beating Cornerstone University, 78-33, on the second day of Westmont’s holiday classic behind a defense that forced 31 turnovers and Stephanie Soares‘ 18 points and 10 rebounds.

“We had pretty good intensity,” said forward Rebekah Throns, who added eight points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. “We were getting up into their faces, and our pressure was pretty good. I felt like we played as one on defense.”

Master’s will head into a 10-day layoff with a 9-4 record that belies the heavy lifting it has already done. The Mustangs have beaten two teams ranked in the NAIA’s top 10, and all four of its losses have come at the hands of quality opponents.

This week was one of marquee matchups, all against teams with postseason pedigrees. Wayland Baptist and Lewis-Clark State have each played in an NAIA Division 1 semifinal over the last two seasons.

Cornerstone (Mich.) advanced to the NAIA Division II national tournament last season but returned only one starter and underwent a coaching change.

Tuesday, the Golden Eagles fell to Westmont 79-30 as the Warriors held their visitors to single digits in three of the game’s four quarters.

Wednesday presented little reprieve for Cornerstone. The Mustangs have hung their collective hat on defense over the last few weeks.

Before Tuesday’s 70-55 loss to LC State, Master’s had held its previous three opponents to an average of 41.3 points a game.

It was defense that keyed Wednesday’s decisive run, too.

Master’s led 22-14 when Cornerstone called timeout at the 6:47 mark in the second quarter. TMU coach Dan Waldeck admonished his huddle to ramp up its intensity.

The Mustangs listened.

TMU forced turnovers on the Golden Eagles’ next five possessions, four by way of a steal. When Throns committed thievery, and Sabrina Thompson found Soares for a layup at the other end, the lead ballooned to 30-14.

“I told them we need to start playing on our toes, not our heels,” Waldeck said. “I don’t know if it’s what I said or if they just made a choice. But we came out of that timeout a different team.”

It was a stark change from Tuesday’s second quarter when the Mustangs went scoreless for the first 4 minutes 17 seconds of the period, and LC State went on a 10-0 run to take a lead it would never relinquish.

This time, the Mustangs led by 21 at half and by 28 after the third.

Iddings finished with 11 points. She made all three of her three-point attempts. Anika Neuman and Tristen Coltom each finished with eight points for TMU, which shot 51 percent as a team. Sabrina Thompson added seven points, and Iddings helped the Mustangs get out to a fast start.

Master’s led 11-4 in the first quarter when Jessica Soares kicked the ball to Iddings at the top of the key. Iddings entered the day a tick under 40 percent on 43 three-point shots. This triple was true.

The Mustangs led 16-8 after 10 minutes.

As for whether Master’s could rebound from Tuesday, the question was quite literal: Could they rebound?

In their two games this week before Wednesday, the Mustangs allowed 22 and 19 offensive rebounds, the two highest numbers in that category this season.

Wednesday, Cornerstone had four.

Here’s the box score.