SANTA CLARITA, Calif. -- Vanguard women's basketball got their post-season campaign underway Wednesday night at the 2022 Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament, hosted by The Master's. The Lions defeated Life Pacific twice on the year and did so for a third time in the late game of the day, winning by a final score of 86-45. VU goes to 13-11 overall while the Warriors will end their season 1-27 overall.
What Happened? Gabriela Rosas (SR/Chihuahua, Mexico) got the Lions on the board first, as she took a nice pass from Lauren Baumgartner (JR/Meridian, ID) and buried the 10-foot shot. A steal from Airiana Madanski (SO/Gilbert, AZ) on the next possession allowed her to throw it to a wide-open Melissa Akullu (SO/Kampala, Uganda), who laid it in to make it 4-0. Life Pacific then got their first bucket but it would be all Vanguard for the next five minutes, as VU went on a 10-2 run, with Akullu and Estefania Giner (JR/Chihuahua, Mexico) netting all of the points. The Warriors would score twice more in the first 10 minutes, as the Blue and Gold controlled both ends of the court to take a 25-6 lead into the second frame. The Lions shot 52.2% in the first quarter even though they missed all four shots from downtown.
The Warriors scored first in the second but some made free throws from Baumgartner and a three from Rosas got the Lions back in their flow. Hannah Monty (JR/Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) entered the fray and got her first basket of the night with 6:43 left in the half, as the lead went up to 35-11. Baumgartner then splashed down a couple of deep threes to make the score 45-14. Giner scored two more points for the Blue and Gold with 23 seconds to go and Life Pacific made one free throw to make the halftime score 47-17 in favor of VU. Vanguard ended the half shooting 50% from the floor, 36.4% from downtown, and 75% from the free-throw line. LPU shot 29.2% from the field. VU also held a large 25-6 lead in rebounds.
The Lions were again clinical in the third period, shooting 56.3% from the floor and 50% from deep to take the frame 22-8. Akullu had the first seven points of the period and Alexa Silva (FR/Lemoore, CA) made two threes with less than three minutes to go. With just 10 minutes to go, the Lions held a 69-26 advantage.
Monty had a great fourth, making five of the first seven points and collecting nine overall in the frame. Arielle Hines (FR/Long Beach, CA) made a few layups and Teihani Sagiao (FR/Long Beach, CA) made a jumper with 42 seconds to go as well for VU. While the lead was never in question, the Warriors finished the game on a strong note, winning the fourth quarter 19-17, but Vanguard took the game to advance in the tournament 86-45.
The Lions shot 53% from the floor for the game, 42.1% from beyond the arc, and went 8-for-12 from the free-throw line. LPU shot 31.5% for the game. VU won the rebound battle 39-21, dominating the offensive glass to the tune of a 14-5 margin.
Akullu had 23 points to lead the team, as she also grabbed nine rebounds. Giner had 14 points, Rosas had 12, and Monty had 11. Baumgartner had eight points and led the team with nine rebounds and six assists.
What was Said? "We came out with good energy tonight," said Head Coach Russ Davis. "Had some lapses on a few defensive possessions and we need to do better tomorrow because we will definitely have our hands full. It's post-season, so it's survive and advance and we did that tonight."
What's Next? The Lions will play tomorrow at 7:15 p.m. against the #2 seed The Master's.
