Game Recap By Don Gilmore, TMU Assistant SID

Nearly eight weeks ago, Arizona Christian handed The Master’s University its first loss in GSAC play.

Fifty-four days later, it was still the Mustangs’ only conference defeat and they made sure there would not be a repeat in the rematch between the GSAC’s top two squads Thursday on Bross Court.

Using a strong finish over the final seven minutes, the 10th-ranked Mustangs bolted away from the No. 24 Firestorm to win 77-59 and extend their winning streak to nine games.

With the win, Master’s now holds sole possession of first place in the Golden State Athletic Conference with eight games to go.

“That was a gutsy win against a very good, veteran team,” said Mustang head coach Dan Waldeck. “Credit to ACU which made so many plays tonight. I thought our team did an amazing job of staying in the moment, relying on our defense, and trusting each other.”

That was most evident in the fourth quarter when the Mustangs (17-4, 9-1 GSAC) used a 14-0 run to turn a close game (54-53) into a runaway.

Hannah Forrar ignited the surge with a three-pointer at the 7:08 mark and added four free throws while senior Jamilee Iddings canned a three and added a layup that extended the advantage to 68-53 with just over four minutes left to play.

“It has been characteristic of this team that we have different people step up every night,” said Waldeck. “Forrar, Jamie (Iddings), and Jess (Soares) gave us a shot in the arm when we needed it most.”

Speaking of stepping up, that’s what Stephanie Soares did in the opening quarter. The freshman scored 10 of her team-high 17 points in the period, going 5-of-6 from the field.

Yet, the Firestorm (15-7, 8-2) stayed right with the Mustangs and only an Iddings’ trey near the end of the quarter enabled the team to lead 15-14 after the initial 10 minutes.

A Firestorm three-pointer 20 seconds into the second frame put ACU ahead. That was the final time it would enjoy a lead the rest of the evening.

An Iddings’ three-pointer, her second of three on the evening, sparked a quick 8-0 burst that put the Mustangs ahead for good.

Sophomore Anika Neuman‘s three-pointer with 8:06 left in the quarter made it a 23-17 lead.

Those two baskets were part of a remarkable quarter for the Mustangs, who didn’t miss from the field in 11 attempts and wound up hitting 75% (18-24) of their shots in the first half.

Still, they led only 41-35 at the break.

Much of that had to do with ACU’s Courtney Christmas, a two-time NAIA All-American who had 19 first-half points.

As much as the offenses shone in the first half, the defenses took over in the third quarter when the two clubs combined for just 23 points.

Despite leading by as many as 10 (51-41), the Mustangs couldn’t pull away from the Firestorm, which used a 6-1 run to get within 52-47 at the end of the third quarter.

That set the stage for a fourth quarter that featured the Mustangs’ usually stingy defense.

The Master’s held the Firestorm to 4-of-19 shooting from the field and 12 points over the final 10 minutes and got major production from Forrar and Iddings, who combined for 14 of the club’s 26 points.

During the nine-game win streak, the Mustangs have not allowed more than 59 points in a game, and as of Thursday, they were fourth in the country in points allowed per game (51.3).

Besides scoring 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting, Stephanie Soares ripped down a game-high 12 rebounds to record her nation-leading 17th double-double of the campaign.

The country’s top shot blocker added seven more blocks to give her 107 for the season.

Iddings went for 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, and Forrar finished with 14 points to round out a trio of double-figure scorers for the Mustangs.

Here’s the box score.

One game into the second half of conference play, the Mustangs still have nine games left in the regular season, eight of those in the GSAC.

The next of those conference games is a Saturday afternoon home matchup with Ottawa University Arizona. The Mustangs defeated the Spirit 74-60 back on Nov. 29.

“(There’s) lots of basketball still to be played,” Waldeck said. “So, we’ll just keep working every day to improve.”