SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The twelfth-ranked Vanguard Lions Women's Basketball (5-4, 2-4) narrowly fell to the fourth-ranked Westmont College (8-1, 5-0) as a couple of looks late didn't fall in favor of the Blue and Gold. Westmont would earn the series sweep, but the three-point margin of defeat in the last game was the closest the Lions would come to an upset victory.
What Happened? Lauren Baumgartner paced things early on for the Lions as she hit a couple of keys to negate some early runs by the Warriors. Westmont would shoot 9-13 from the field in the first quarter to go up 20-11. In the second quarter, Michaella Elad and Airiana Madanski hit back-to-back jumpers before Estefania Giner's three cut the deficit to four, forcing a timeout by Westmont. The Warriors maintained their high shooting percentages from the field through the rest of the half as they took an eight-point advantage into the half.
Westmont would push their advantage to 15 with four minutes and 20 seconds left in the third quarter, but Baumgartner would score six of the final eight points of the quarter for the Blue and Gold as we would head to the fourth with the Warriors up 48-38. The Lions were aggressive getting to the line in the early minutes of the fourth quarter, as they continued to climb back into the game thanks to jump shots from Giner and Baumgartner. With 1:44 left in the game, Giner hit a massive three to cut the Warriors' lead to three, but Westmont would hold on for a three-point victory.
Why It's Important? It has been a tale of two halves for the Lions as they started their season with a five-game winning streak before dropping their last four games. The Pride continued to be a force on the boards as 13 offensive rebounds lead to 11 second-chance points.
Top Performers: Lauren Baumgartner would lead the Lions with 17 points on 4-9 shooting from the field while knocking down all six of her free-throw attempts. Gabriela Rosas and Airiana Madanski would each tally eleven points, and Michaella Elad would finish with nine points, seven rebounds, a block, and a steal. As a team, they would shoot 38% from the field, 36% from deep, and 90% from the charity stripe.
What's Next: The final game of the season will come on Monday, February 22nd at 4:30 p.m. on the road against Hope International
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