Second-seeded Vanguard University became the NAIA’s first-ever Division I Women’s Basketball National Champion from the
state of California, defeating sixth-seeded Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.) University, 72-59, in the national title game. Vanguard was the first NAIA champion located outside Oklahoma or Tennessee since 1993, and the Lions are the first program west of the Rockies to claim the NAIA Division I women’s championship. Vanguard finished its national title run with a final record of 29-5 and forever will be known for winning the first team championship in school history.
Head Coach Russ Davis and his Lions finally reached the mountain top after being knocked out of the chase in the semifinal rounds in both 2006 and 2007. The previous year, the team went 20-0 in GSAC, opened the year as the #1 team in the country and went an incredible 31-1 over the course of the season. The large departing senior class was highlighted by Kelly Schmidt who was inducted into the Vanguard Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017. She was a 2x GSAC POTY, 4x NAIA All American, 4x NAIA All-Tournament Team, 2x NAIA POTY, 2x NAIA Scholar Athlete, 6x GSAC POTW
The 2008 postseason run began with a 53-52 victory over Point Loma Nazarene to secure both the regular season and tournament championships for Vanguard. In the first round of the NAIA National tournament, second seeded Vanguard defeated #7 Cumberlands (KY) 75-72 before knocking off #3 Lambuth University (TN) by a count of 7-67. This gave the Lions a berth in the quarterfinal round for the sixth straight season. In the next round, the Blue and Gold held fourth-seeded Carroll (Mont.) College without a field goal for an eight-minute stretch, sending the Lions to their third straight semifinals appearance with a 71-56 victory. They advanced to play in their first NAIA National Title game after a 74-72 win over No. 1 seed, and previously unbeaten Union (Tenn.) University. Vanguard’s Melissa Cook recorded the game-winner on a driving lay-up six seconds left to break a 72-72 tie. The Lions’ appearance in the title game also marked the first time a team from the state of California has ever played for an NAIA title.
Jessica Richter was named Tournament MVP, Lauren Gregory was named to the All-Tournament First Team, while Melissa Cook was recognized as All-Tournament Second Team. Coach Davis was selected as the Phyllis Holmes NAIA Coach of the Year. Throughout the season, the squad racked up many awards include Richter being named GSAC Player of the Year and NAIA All-American First Team, while Melissa Cook was also named to the All-GSAC list as well as a berth on the NAIA All-American Second Team. The duo plus Lindsey Rinke was selected as both NAIA and GSAC Scholar-Athletes. During the regular season, the team had four GSAC Players of the Week.
