MESA, Ariz. – Gabriela Rosas (SR/Chihuahua, Mexico) poured in a career-high 31 points and Airiana Madanski (SO/Gilbert, AZ) added 20 to lead the Vanguard women's basketball team to a 70-64 victory over St. Francis (Ill.) to close out the Cactus Classic on Tuesday.
The Lions improved to 6-3 on the season while the Saints fell to 11-5.
The guard duo shot a combined 18-of-36 from the floor in accounting for 51 of the team's 70 points. Both players were also lights out from distance as Madanski knocked down six triples in 10 attempts, while Rosas was 4-of-8 overall.
Melissa Akullu (SO/Kampala, Uganda) contributed 12 points and nine rebounds while making 6-of-9 from the field.
The Lions connected for 11 three-pointers – their second-highest total this season – and committed a season-low eight turnovers.
Vanguard led by as many as 18 points but held off a late St. Francis charge to get the victory.
Jordan Pyle of St. Francis led all players with 33 points and 10 rebounds. She shot 14-of-21 from the floor.
What Happened?: Vanguard avoided the sluggish start which had hampered the team in the previous three games, jumping all over the Saints to build a 21-14 lead after one period.
The Lions shot 8-of-16 from the floor in the opening stanza. Rosas scored seven straight points to give VU an early 10-2 lead, while Madanski canned a pair of threes to aid the strong opening 10 minutes.
Pyle scored nine straight of her team's 11 points in the second quarter, but Vanguard kept everyone else in check to extend its lead to as many as 14 points. The Lions connected for four threes in the frame, including the last two from Rosas that resulted in a 39-25 halftime advantage.
Out of intermission, the Lions produced their largest lead as a layup from Rosas made it 43-25 at the 8:43 mark of the third period. Rosas scored 11 of VU's 15 points as the Saints shaved just one point off their deficit and trailed 54-41 after three.
The game tightened in the final period as the Saints caught fire while the Lions cooled off. St. Francis scored nine of the first 11 points as Kalyn Sias-Chaney had five and Pyle four during the run, cutting Vanguard's lead to six at 56-50.
Madanski created some breathing room as back-to-back threes off of Alexa Silva (FR/Lemoore, CA) passes upped the VU lead to 62-52. Jorja Bolton responded with a three of her own for St. Francis, but Rosas buried her fourth trey of the game to push the advantage back to double-digits with 4:25 to play.
St. Francis then went on a 9-0 run to trim the VU lead to 65-64 as Braxton Mickens hit a jumper with 46 seconds to play.
However, Madanski answered with a huge three with 31 ticks on the clock to make it 68-64 Lions. Sias-Chaney missed a couple of three-point attempts and Hannah Monty (JR/Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) sank a pair of insurance free throws for the final margin.
Madanski notched 11 of her 20 points in the decisive fourth quarter.
Why Is It Important?: The Lions are 4-0 when Madanski scores in double figures. Meanwhile, Rosas has taken her game to a new level as the senior is averaging 20.5 points over her last four games. She averaged 6.4 points through the first five contests.
What Was Said?: "Great win today to finish the trip," said Head Coach Russ Davis. "We executed our stuff today, and Gabby and Airiana made huge shots for us all game. Lauren (Baumgartner) and Alexa didn't score much but were great floor generals. Really happy with how we battled through adversity this trip. It was a great team win."
What's Next?: The Lions take a break from competition to enjoy the Christmas holiday before facing their final regular season nonconference opponent. Bethesda visits The Pit for the second time this season on Wednesday, December 29 at 5:00 p.m. VU defeated the Flames 102-32 in the season opener back on November 2.
