HENDERSON, Tenn.--Cumberland trailed by as much as 19 points in the first half and fought back to tie the game late in the third, but the RV Master's Mustangs made enough plays down the stretch to get a 76-68 win at Brewer Sports Center. 

Cumberland (1-5) got off to a slow, but battled back to give themselves a chance late. The Phoenix went 23-of-62 from the field and 4-of-22 from three. Cumberland did get to the line a lot making 18-of-27 free throws. Cumberland forced the Master's into 26 turnovers in the game that translated to 33 points for CU. 

This was just the second meeting between the two sides as the last time they met was in the 1999-2000 season when the Mustangs traveled to Lebanon from California. 

Kayla Gordon went for 23 points on 8-of-20 shooting. This was her second 20 point game of the season. She also added four boards and two assists. Ever Walker scored 17 points on 5-of-14 shooting and 3-of-10 from deep. Emaleigh Tarpley scored 11 points. Myajae Eubanks had nine points and led the team in rebounds with seven.

The Master's (4-1) shot nearly 50% from the field making 29-of-60 shots. They went 3-of-15 from downtown and made 15-of-25 free throws. The Mustangs outrebounded Cumberland 45-to-31 in the contest. 

The Mustangs were led by Marin Lenz with 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Alli VanKooten scored 18 points on 9-of-16 shooting with a team-high seven rebounds. Kelly Mathiesen added in 12 points. Point guard Lexi Hernandez scored nine points and had six assists. 

The Phoenix got off to a slow start in the first quarter. The Mustangs knocked down a three and a layup to get up 5-0. Gordon got the scoring started for Cumberland with two free throws, but the Phoenix got stuck on two points for a long time in the first allowing the Master's to get up 15-2 on a five minute scoring drought.

Hyde finally got a layup to go to end the drought. Brillhart followed with a three and Gordon scored in the paint for a 7-0 Cumberland run. The Mustangs ended the quarter on three-straight points for a 21-9 lead.

The Masters controlled the second quarter as well, taking the 12-point lead and building it up to a 19-point lead up 38-19 with three minutes left. The Phoenix went on another 7-0 run to end the half. Cumberland got it done at the line scoring five points before the Phoenix forced a turnover and Gordon made a two at the horn to have some momentum going into half trailing 38-26. 

The Phoenix continued to attack early in the third quarter starting the half off with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit all the way down to five, 38-33, just two minutes into the quarter.

The Mustangs took a timeout and got a basket after the stoppage, but CU still chipped away getting within one possession on an and-one from Eubanks. The Master's answered with a 7-0 spurt on three baskets before Eubansk scored again and Walker drilled a three to get down by six at 47-41 with six minutes left in the third. 

The Mustangs went on a scoring drought for the rest of the third allowing CU to rally back and tie the game at 50-50, but the Master's got a block and a bucket to end the quarter to lead 52-50. 

Cumberland did not score the first three and a half minutes of the fourth and the Master's took advantage of it to build back a seven-point lead on a 5-0 spurt. Walker knocked down another three to slow the run, but the Mustangs scored the next six points to get back up by 10 at 63-53 with five minutes left. 

The Phoenix went on another big 7-0 run to cut the score to 63-60 with just 2:46 left. At that point the game slowed down as CU sent the Master's to the line on four straight trips and they made all eight free throws. Tarpley converted an and-one to get some life back to the Cumberland bench, but the Master's made their free throws down the stretch to come away with the 76-68 win. 

Cumberland will have another chance tomorrow as they take on Missouri Baptist at the Brewer Sports Center. Tip-off is set for 12:00 p.m.