Game Recap By Mason Nesbitt, TMU Sports Information Director

ATHERTON, CALIF. — One night after an electrifying fourth quarter comeback, the Mustangs again found themselves down by double figures in Saturday’s final period.

This time no barrage of three-pointers rained down inside Haynes-Prim Pavilion. No defensive stranglehold ensued.

Westmont beat Master’s, 60-50, at Menlo College in Atherton, California, capturing its fourth straight Golden State Athletic Conference tournament title — a GSAC record.

Master’s (26-6) struggled from beyond the arc and turned the ball over 20 times, falling behind by 13 early in the fourth quarter.

The Mustangs twice cut the deficit to nine in the final five minutes but came no closer, losing for only the second time in their last 20 games.

Unlike Friday’s semifinal, when Master’s overcame a 10-point hole in the fourth quarter to beat Vanguard, TMU’s shots never started falling.

“You can’t score 50 points and expect to win,” said TMU coach Dan Waldeck, “and we shouldn’t be a team that’s only scoring 50 points.”

Westmont (24-7), the NAIA’s No. 10 team, earned an automatic bid to nationals with the win. Master’s, at No. 5 in the rankings, will certainly receive an at-large bid when the Division 1 bracket is released Wednesday on Facebook Live.

“We’ll be ready, you can be sure,” Waldeck said. “We’ll be ready and hungry.”

The Mustangs made 4-of-26 three-pointers Saturday and failed to reach 10 points in both the second and third quarters, the first time this season they’ve been held to single digits in more than one frame.

TMU’s 21 points at halftime were its second fewest in a half this season, and the feeling was all too familiar against a Westmont team among the country’s best at keeping the ball out of the basket.

Master’s scored a season-low 46 points at Westmont on Feb. 16, a loss that snapped a 15-game winning streak and refocused Master’s for the stretch run.

The Mustangs went on to beat Life Pacific and Vanguard to close out the regular season with a 16-2 conference record, winning the first GSAC regular season title in program history.

TMU’s 26 wins overall are its most since the 2005-2006 season.

Saturday’s game was expected to be low scoring.

Both teams entered the GSAC championship ranked in the top three nationally in scoring defense. Master’s was second in opponent field goal percentage, holding teams to a cumulative 31%.

Westmont shot only 33 percent, but it hit shots anytime Master’s appeared on the verge of making a run.

Freshman Kaitlin Larson, an All-GSAC pick for the Warriors and a timely antidote for a team that had graduated two All-American posts, hit a corner three-pointer with 7:37 to play, pushing Westmont ahead by 13.

Larson finished with a game-high 18 points and battled TMU’s Stephanie Soares in the post on defense.

Soares finished with 15 points, 26 rebounds and three blocks. The 26 rebounds matched both TMU’s program record and the most in an NAIA Division 1 game this season.

TMU’s Jamilee Iddings tossed in 12 points on 3-of-7 shooting from distance. Her three-pointer near the end of the first quarter nudged Master’s ahead 12-11, but it would be TMU’s last lead of the game.

The Warriors outscored Master’s 20-9 in the second quarter to take a 10-point lead into the half.

Brooke Bailey, a key player in TMU’s rally on Friday, hit another timely three Saturday.

Her three-pointer with 2:58 left in the third quarter dropped the deficit to six. But soon it was back to 10.

Bailey finished with nine points.