SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – Due in large part to some frosty shooting, the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens' three-game swing through California got off to a rough start.
Wayland shot just 26 percent and realized about half of its normal point production as the third-ranked Flying Queens – despite leading by as many as 18 points – suffered their first loss of the season to No. 22 The Master's University here Monday afternoon, 64-49.
"We have a great offensive team, and I never thought the day would come when we were all off. It happened today," Wayland coach
Alesha Ellis said.
Wayland (9-1) was looking to improve to 10-0 for the second straight year and match its best start to a season in a quarter-century, but instead the Flying Queens were held to their lowest-scoring game in more than three years by the much-taller Mustangs (8-3).
Things started out well for WBU, which went on a 16-4 run and held a 20-10 lead late in the first quarter. The Flying Queens then notched the first nine points of the second period and were in control, 29-11, some four minutes into the second.
"It started off great," Ellis said.
The coach said the Mustangs then went to a 1-3-1 zone defense, and the Flying Queens couldn't shoot them out of it.
"We have to learn to adjust a little bit better. When shots aren't falling we have to face that adversity and figure out a way," Ellis said.
The Master's took advantage, tallying the next 11 points to get right back in it. The Flying Queens' once-comfortable lead was down to seven at halftime, 33-26.
It didn't get any better for Wayland after intermission, when the team ranked third in the NAIA in scoring at almost 92 points a game managed just 16 points.
"It's not like we weren't getting open shots," Ellis said. "We were just all off at the same time."
The Mustangs went on an 18-2 run in the third period when they outscored Wayland, 22-6, and took a 48-39 lead into the final 10 minutes. The Flying Queens hit a free throw to open scoring in the fourth quarter and get within eight, but that's as close as they ever got. It was a 9-point game with 2½ minutes left, but Wayland didn't score again and The Master's closed the game with a pair of 3-pointers to account for the 15-point spread.
Wayland's shooting numbers the entire game were disappointing (20-of-76 field goals, 5-of-26 3-pointers; all nine players attempted at least one 3), but they were especially dismal in the second half when the Flying Queens made just 6-of-33 shots (18 percent), including 2-of-13 3s (15 percent). WBU even struggled to hit free throws the few times it got to the line, making 4-of-9 (44 percent).
"We were finding the shots, we just weren't knocking them down," Ellis said.
On a team that has put as many as seven and routinely sees five players score in double figures,
Maci Merket was the lone Flying Queen in double digits with 16 points as she hit all but one of the team's five 3s. No other player scored more than six points.
The Master's, which hit 11-of-21 3s (52 percent), got 15 points from Hannah Forrar and 11 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks from Stephanie Soares, a 6-foot-6 freshman from Brazil. Rebekah Throns, the sister to WBU Pioneer Josh Throns, got six points and 10 boards. (Another Throns sister, Hannah, also plays for TMU).
Each team ended with 45 rebounds, with Wayland getting 22 offensive boards, and the Flying Queens' 11 turnovers were eight less than The Master's, which logged nine blocks.
"We did some good things. Twenty-two offensive rebounds against a big team is impressive. We did a lot of things right," Ellis said. "I felt like we executed well, although at times we went away from what we do well because we were rattled (shooting).
"We have to be mentally tough."
Wayland fell to 1-4 all-time against The Master's, which went into the game ranked 15
th in the NAIA in scoring defense, allowing opponents less than 58 ppg.
"They were a good test and that's what we wanted. That's why we schedule these games," Ellis said.
The Flying Queens now turn their sights toward No. 1-ranked Vanguard (10-0) in a game set for 9:30 p.m. CST Wednesday in Costa Mesa, Calif. Vanguard hosts Texas Wesleyan on Monday night.
"The good news is we get two more shots at top teams," Ellis said. "Our girls understand how important these games are. They gave great effort today and played hard, we just couldn't get any shots to fall."
After Vanguard, Wayland wraps up its West Coast trip by taking on No. 11 Westmont (7-3) at 4 p.m. Friday.
