SANTA CLARITA, Calif. -- After a large victory over Life Pacific yesterday, Vanguard women's basketball continued on in the 2022 Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament Thursday night. The Lions faced the #2 seeded Mustangs of The Master's, who are also #7 in the country. Vanguard trailed early and the team was down double-digits but made a run to slim the lead to just three. Despite the heroic attempt, the clock ran out too soon and the Mustangs escaped with a 69-66 victory. TMU goes to 27-3 overall and VU falls to 13-12.
What Happened?
A great defensive stand started the game for VU, as Lauren Baumgartner (JR/Meridian, ID) helped to make a steal and pick the ball up from the deck, but the Mustangs would score first the next time down the floor. Down 4-0, Vanguard cut the lead with a layup from Melissa Akullu (SO/Kampala, Uganda) and then grabbed a lead courtesy of a three from Gabriela Rosas (SR/Chihuahua, Mexico). Both teams then failed to score for two minutes, but the Mustangs climbed back on top 6-5 after that. Halfway through the frame, TMU led 9-5, but Rosas made a pair of free throws to keep it close at 9-7. Once more the hosts tried to pull away but they could not escape. Akullu grabbed an offensive rebound and found an open Airiana Madanski (SO/Gilbert, AZ), who made the far-wing three to make it 14-13 TMU, which concluded the scoring for the first. The Lions shot 26.7% from the field but went 3-for-4 from deep in the first, as the team played some great defense. TMU shot 25% and made one of the six threes they took.
The Mustangs scored the first couple of points of the second but another layup from Akullu kept it a one-point gap. A steal at the other end from Estefania Giner (JR/Chihuahua, Mexico) allowed Akullu to break free and she got fouled, converting both free throws to give the Blue and Gold its second lead of the night. The Lions kept the lead for the next two minutes but then The Master's mashed the gas pedal. TMU ended the half on a 22-9 run to snag a 42-29 lead at the break. It could have been higher but Baumgartner took a quick pass from the back-court and dropped in a jumper inside the arc to give a little life to VU as the team headed to the locker room.
Vanguard shot 30% in the first half, 42.9% from deep, and was 8-8 from the free-throw line. The Master's shot 46.4% from the field, made only one of their nine three-point shots, and were 15-for-16 from the charity stripe. Foul trouble did plague the Lions toward the end of the half, as the team racked up 11 fouls, with Giner and Madanski each receiving three.
Baumgartner got the third going with a pair of made free throws and Alexa Silva (FR/Lemoore, CA) buried a three to help close the distance to the Mustangs. Baumgartner made another triple a minute later to cut the lead to 46-37 but TMU made four points in a row to negate the VU push. The Mustangs would continue to pour it on as the quarter went along, taking a 56-39 advantage. Vanguard made some free throws towards the end of the period but TMU entered the fourth with a 61-46 lead.
The fourth opened slowly for VU but the Lions mounted quite the charge to end the game. Akullu and Rosas slowly chipped the lead down to 13 over the first three minutes of the fourth before each team went cold again. Another Akullu layup brought the deficit to 65-54 and with the Lions locking down their own end, the squad was able to put the pressure on. A three from Rosas made it a six-point game and another from Madanski diced the lead to 67-62 with 1:12 to go. With some fouls to spare, VU tried to extend the game and Giner intercepted one of the inbound passes in the paint, getting fouled with 55 remaining. She made both shots to make it a one-possession game at 67-64.
The Master's eluded the full-court press on the following inbounds play and got to the free-throw line off a foul at mid-court. The shooter made one of the two but when the Lions took the ball to the other end, Akullu could not make the contested layup. Another made free throw by The Masters put the hosts ahead 69-64 with 16 seconds to go. Rosas missed a deep free off the rush but Silva found the loose ball and fed it to Akullu, who sunk it to make it 69-66, but there were only four seconds left. Having to foul, the Lions did and the TMU shooter missed both, but when the rebound landed in the arms Akullu, the horn sounded to end the comeback attempt.
The Lions shot 33.9% for the game, 43.8% from deep, and were 19 of 20 from the free-throw line. TMU shot 44.4% from the field, made only one of the team's 13 three attempts, and went 20-28 at the charity stripe. VU won the rebound battle 38-35 but had 23 total fouls compared to 16 for The Master's. Akullu led all players with 23 points on the night, as she also collected 10 rebounds to pace the Lions. Rosas had 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Giner had 10 points, four rebounds, and assists, and Baumgartner had nine points.
What was Said? "We fought hard to get back in the game and I'm happy for our fight," said Head Coach Russ Davis. "We need to put together more stops and make more open shots, along with taking care of the ball so we don't get in that position. I loved how we competed the last 12 minutes after going down 20 points. Hats off to the Master's for the relentless pressure they put on us. We will get better be back while learning lessons from this year."
