SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Halle Si'i (FR/Long Beach, CA) scored a game-high 25 points in an upset bid for the Vanguard women's basketball team, but 17 turnovers hindered the Lions in a 64-52 loss to No. 2 Westmont on Saturday evening at Murchison Gym.
The Warriors turned those 17 VU miscues into 24 points. The 12th-ranked Lions, who played without leading rebounder Melissa Akullu (JR/Kampala, Uganda), lost the battle of the boards by a 38-25 margin. The absence of the 6-1 center was a key factor in Westmont's 15-7 edge on the offensive glass.
VU also forced Westmont into 17 turnovers, but generated nine fewer points than the Warriors.
Si'i returned to the Lion lineup following a two-game absence and provided nearly half of the offense, hitting 9-of-17 from the field, including 3-of-6 from three-point range. Estefania Giner (SR/Chihuahua, Mexico) scored in double figures with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting, adding a team-high six caroms.
The Warrior bench outscored the Lion reserves 26-3 with Sage Kramer contributing 14 points in 26 minutes. Stephanie Berberabe led Westmont with 15 points to go along with eight rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Both teams shot 6-of-18 from distance. The Lions had a slight edge in field goal percentage, shooting 42.9 (21-of-49) percent to Westmont's 41.8 (23-of-55). Westmont had the advantage at the free throw line with 12-of-15 efficiency, headed by Berberabe's 7-of-7 effort from the stripe.
Westmont improved to 10-0 overall and 5-0 in the Golden State Athletic Conference. The Lions dropped to 6-2 and 2-2 in league play.
What Happened?: A terrific third quarter positioned the Lions for the victory. VU whittled a 10-point halftime deficit down to three, outscoring the Warriors 20-13 to go into the final 10 minutes trailing 42-39.
VU hit its first five shots in the third and finished 9-of-12 overall for the period. The Lions cut Westmont's lead to 36-30 on a Giner jumper with 5:12 on the clock. VU tallied the last five points of the quarter on another Giner jumper and 1-of-2 free throws from Si'i.
Sarah Matossian (SO/Laguna Niguel, CA) began the fourth quarter with a layup, followed by a Si'i three-pointer as VU inched within a bucket at 46-44.
But the Lions could not get over the hump as the Warriors outscored them 18-8 the rest of the way. Six fourth quarter turnovers derailed VU, contributing to an 11-0 run. Kramer played a huge role, scoring six straight points and assisting on Laila Saenz's three-pointer that opened up a 57-44 Warrior lead with 3:25 remaining.
The Lions crept back to within eight at 57-49 as Faith Boss (FR/Torrance, CA) knocked down a triple, followed by a Giner layup.
However, Westmont made seven straight free throws to thwart the Lion comeback. VU managed to shoot just 5-of-17 in the final period.
The Lions opened the game on good terms, jumping out to a 10-5 lead on a Si'i bucket. Kramer knocked down a pair of threes as the Warriors responded by scoring the last 10 points of the first quarter. VU had six turnovers in the opening 10 minutes, which the Warriors converted into eight points.
The Warriors continued their momentum into the second period as their scoring run eventually became 16-0. After scoring the first three buckets of the frame, Westmont opened up a 21-10 lead.
Si'i hit back-to-back shots to trim the deficit to 21-15 at the 6:10 mark, but the Warriors answered with an 8-2 run to create their biggest lead at 29-17. Giner made a reverse layup with 33 ticks left to get VU within 10, 29-19 at halftime.
Westmont scored 14 points off of nine VU turnovers in the first half and had eight different players get into the scoring column to showcase a balanced attack. The Warriors also had 10 assists on 12 buckets.
Si'i kept VU within striking distance thanks to scoring 12 of VU's 19 first half points.
Why Is It Important?: The Lions lost their eighth straight meeting to the Warriors, although they still lead the all-time series 39-21.
What Was Said?: "Played tough without Melissa and having people not be able to practice for two weeks," said Head Coach Russ Davis. "You can't have bad turnovers and missed rebounds against a great team and expect to win. We needed to step up and rebound without our best rebounder and we didn't get it done. Halle was great for us. It was nice to have her back after back after missing the last two games. Lauren showed incredible heart after not practicing all week. Amazing effort for being out with illness and still playing 37 minutes. Wow."
What's Next?: The Lions return to action next Saturday with their home opener, a GSAC battle against San Diego Christian at noon.
