COSTA MESA – The Vanguard women's basketball team let a big lead slip away in Thursday's Golden State Athletic Conference showdown with Menlo, but clutch free throw shooting by Lauren Baumgartner (SR/Meridian, ID) helped the Lions escape with a 78-72 overtime victory at Orange Coast College.

In the extra period, Baumgartner made 9 of 10 from the charity stripe and the VU defense held the Oaks to 2 of 10 shooting. The Lions scored 12 of their 14 points from the foul line during overtime in winning their fourth straight game. No. 14 VU moved to 15-4 overall and 8-3 in conference play.

The Oaks (14-7, 8-4 GSAC) trailed by as many as 19 points in the game and erased a 15-point fourth quarter deficit to force overtime. The Lions maintained a 10-point lead with 3:45 remaining in regulation, but Menlo closed with a 12-2 run to extend the game.

Halle Si'i (FR/Long Beach, CA) scored a team-high 21 points to go along with nine rebounds, four assists and four steals. Baumgartner added 20 points on 13 of 14 free throw shooting. Melissa Akullu (JR/Kampala, Uganda) posted 14 points and 12 rebounds for her 11th double-double.

Jaryn Madsen (FR/Warden, WA) was the fourth Lion in double figures, hitting four key three-pointers to finish with 13 points off the bench.

Free throws played a crucial role in the win. VU shot 23 of 33 overall, 69.7%, while the Oaks were 11 of 18 at 61.1%.

Kiara Brown led the Oaks with 26 points and Vivian Woo chipped in 13. Six different Oaks hit at least one triple as the team ended up making 11 threes for the game.

VU owned a 34-18 edge in points in the paint.

What Happened?: The Lions looked to be in firm control with a 56-41 lead entering the fourth quarter. Sarah Matossian (SO/Laguna Niguel, CA) opened the frame with a layup to put the Oaks in a 17-point hole, but a 7-0 Menlo run whittled the deficit to 58-48.

Si'i maneuvered inside for back-to-back layups to extend VU's advantage to 64-52 with 3:17 to go. The Oaks got within single digits on the next possession on Alberte Frisch's three-pointer.

The Lions stalled from there, missing their final three field goal attempts and two free throws while committing three turnovers over the last three minutes. That enabled Menlo to fight back with timely shots, including back-to-back three-pointers from Jordyn Rosette and Brown.

Brown's trey with 1:15 left cut Menlo's deficit to 64-62. The Lions misfired twice on the next possession, while the Oaks missed twice as well. However, Menlo grabbed the offensive rebound in both instances and maintained the ball with 15 ticks left.

Brown tied the game on a layup, scoring 13 of her 26 points in a productive fourth period.

To their credit, the Lions showed their grit in overtime. VU scored the first five points thanks to 1 of 2 free throws from Madsen, a Si'i layup and two more freebies from Baumgartner.

Brown made 1 of 2 free throws for the Oaks to make the score 69-65, but Baumgartner drew another foul and converted both foul shots to extend the lead to six.

Huggins got fouled and made both of her free throw attempts as Menlo closed within 71-67 with 45 seconds remaining, but the Lions held off the chase, hitting 7 of 10 from the line to end the game.

The Lions led 20-4 after one period as Si'i, Madsen and Baumgartner combined for all 20 points. The Oaks shot just 2 of 13 overall and missed all five three-point attempts to create the 16-point deficit.

Vanguard shot 60 percent (6 of 10) in the second quarter. Madsen canned two threes and Faith Boss (FR/Torrance, CA) added another as the Lions went into the locker room leading 39-21 at halftime.

The three-point shot continued to benefit the Lions in the third period as Estefania Giner (SR/Chihuahua, Mexico) and Baumgartner hit from deep to maintain the VU cushion at 55-39 with 2:07 to go before settling for the 15-point lead after three.

Why Is It Important?: The Lions overcame adversity after winning their previous two games by a combined 139 points. VU leapfrogged Menlo in the standings to move into third place in the GSAC.

What Was Said?: "We started out great and had a good first half," said Head Coach Russ Davis. "We made lot of mistakes in the second half and lost our focus. Give Menlo credit. They never gave up down 20 and started knocking down shots. We didn't execute very well obviously, but, we found a way to win in OT. We could have easily folded. Foul trouble early and injuries late didn't help either. Lauren managed to hit huge free throws and Halle made big plays offensively in the first half and in OT. Jaryn knocked down big shots in the first half and helped us get a big lead. Mel had some huge putbacks late. Just happy we won. They had won nine in a row and are playing great right now. They are a really good team."

What's Next?: The Lions return to GSAC action on Saturday against Jessup. Tip time at Orange Coast College is at noon.