COSTA MESA – Vanguard used an 11-0 run to open the game, and led from start to finish behind a career-high 23 points from Estefania Giner (SR/Chihuahua, Mexico) in Saturday's 77-50 victory over San Diego Christian at Orange Coast College.
The nation's third stingiest defensive unit, allowing just 47.8 points per game, the 14th-ranked Lions clamped down on the Hawks especially in the first and fourth quarters to improve to 51-1 in the all-time series. VU raised its record to 7-2 overall and 3-2 in the Golden State Athletic Conference, while the Hawks fell to 3-9 and 1-5 in league play.
Lauren Baumgartner (SR/Meridian, ID) scored 14 of her 16 points in the third period and made 4-of-6 from three-point land. Melissa Akullu (JR/Kampala, Uganda) posted 13 points, nine rebounds and four steals in just 18 minutes. Halle Si'i (FR/Long Beach, CA) dished out a game-high eight assists.
The Lions badgered the Hawks all afternoon and forced them into 26 turnovers, converting those into 28 points. VU had 13 steals, with at least one coming from six different players.
VU shot 45.1 (32-of-71) percent for the game. SDCC managed just 35.2 (19-of-54) percent efficiency.
Cynnadie Whatley led the Hawks with 13 points and eight rebounds, followed by Jamee Joseph with 12 points.
What Happened?: The Lions pestered the Hawks into five turnovers within the first three minutes to build an early 11-0 lead as Giner had the first two buckets, followed by seven straight points from Akullu.
Karen Hogue got the Hawks on the board at the 6:03 mark, but the Lions extended their lead to 20-4 with 48 seconds to go on a Giner layup. The Lions led 20-8 after one quarter.
San Diego Christian made a slight push to start the second period, scoring the first five points to close within 20-13. The Lions misfired on their first six shot attempts before Akullu got inside for two and pushed VU's lead back to nine.
Hannah Monty (SR/Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) came off the bench and made an immediate impact with a pair of layups as the Lions engineered their biggest first half lead, 34-16, at the 1:39 mark. Haylie Anderson and Whatley countered with three-pointers to bring the score to 39-22 at halftime.
Baumgartner went wild to open the third quarter, going on a personal 9-0 run thanks to three consecutive triples, the last of which gave the Blue and Gold a 48-27 advantage.
The Hawks nipped back with an 11-3 run as Whatley scored six points. Her two free throws narrowed the gap to 13 at 51-38. But that was as close as SDCC would get as Baumgartner hit a jumper and another three to push the lead to 58-40. Jaryn Madsen (FR/Warden, WA) buried a three with five seconds left to provide VU a 61-42 lead at the end of three quarters.
VU stifled the Hawks in the fourth quarter, holding them to 2-of-15 from the field. Giner scored eight straight points to open the period as VU built an insurmountable 69-42 lead.
Back-to-back treys from Airiana Madanski (JR/Gilbert, AZ) created VU's biggest lead of the game at 32 points with just under four minutes to go.
Why Is It Important?: The Lions held their sixth opponent to 50 points or less as they moved into a tie for fourth place in the GSAC.
What Was Said?: "We came out strong in the beginning and maintained the lead," said Head Coach Russ Davis. "Fanny was big for us today and Lauren made some big threes to start the second half. We just need to get everyone healthy so we can see what we can accomplish. Not being able to practice with everyone is hurting our execution, but, we pulled it off today."
What's Next?: Vanguard closes out 2022 with a pair of tournaments in Arizona and Santa Barbara. The Lions participate in the Cactus Classic on December 20-21, starting the two-day event against No. 18 Montana-Western on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. The Cactus Classic will be held at Chandler-Gilbert Community College.
