Costa Mesa -- The Vanguard women's basketball team got back in the win column Saturday night against Life Pacific. VU went up quickly and never trailed in the 89-45 victory, as Gabriela Rosas (SR/Chihuahua, Mexico) and Melissa Akullu (SO/Kampala, Uganda) shone brightly in the victory, with Rosas setting new career highs in points and rebounds. VU goes to 8-7 overall and 4-6 in the Golden State Athletic Conference, while LPU falls to 1-18 overall and 0-10 in conference action
What Happened? The Lions got things rolling early, as Airiana Madanski (SO/Gilbert, AZ) sunk her first shot of the night from beyond the arc to give VU a 3-0 lead just 13 seconds in. Akullu then got to work on her big night, scoring her first bucket on a crafty layup. Another big positive on the night for the Blue and Gold was the return of Estefania Giner (JR/Chihuahua, Mexico), who had missed time since she was injured in the game against Menlo back in November. Giner sunk her first shot in almost two months to put the Lions up 7-0 to a standing ovation from the bench.
The Warriors then got their first three-point shot of the night to fall but Lauren Baumgartner (JR/Meridian, ID) made two threes over the span of a minute, with Rosas making a 10-foot jumper in between to push the lead to 15-3. Both Akullu and Rosas had the hot hands the rest of the quarter, with two scoring the next 14 points to give the Lions a 29-9 advantage after one period of play.
The Warriors started with five unanswered points in the second quarter, but Rosas then buried a three to get VU on the board. She made another shot from within eight feet a couple of minutes later, though both offensives would then stall for a short spell. Madanski added another three to restart the Lion's attack and once more, the rest of the quarter belonged to Akullu and Rosas, who combined for the final eight points the team would score in the half, putting Vanguard ahead 50-19 at the intermission.
Life Pacific picked up their play in the second half, going from 19 points at the break to scoring 26 over the final 20 minutes. VU continued to attack and defend well though, with the only question being would Rosas or Akullu end up with the most points on the night. Akullu made a layup with 4:30 to go in the game but would not score again. It seemed Akullu would hold on but Rosas had other plans as the clock wound down in the final frame. #23 sunk a contested jumper with 1:45 to go and then snuck through the paint for a layup with 45 seconds left to take the top spot for points scored in the game, though both players deserve a lot of credit for how unstoppable they were in the 89-45 win.
Rosas had 33 points and 12 rebounds to go along with four assists in 34 minutes of action. Akullu had 30 points, 18 rebounds, two assists, and three blocks in 34 minutes, as the duo combined for all but 26 of the Vanguard point total. Madanski had nine points to come in third on the squad. Baumgartner had four assists and six points. VU shot 48.6% from the floor, 40.7% from beyond the arc, and made all six of their free throws. LPU shot 30.9% from the floor in the contest, went 28.6% from deep, and was 7-for-9 (77.8%) from the charity stripe.
Why is it Important? Vanguard has never lost to the Warriors and almost every win has been around 40 points or more. 33 points is a career-high for Rosas, who had a previous mark of 27 against San Diego Christian last season almost exactly one year ago (1/20/2021). It is also a new career-high in rebounds. It is the second-most points for Akullu in a single game so far on this season.
What's Next? The Blue and Gold will head north for the GSAC swing against Menlo and WJU, with the Lions playing Menlo first on Thursday, January 27, at 5:30 p.m.
