ALEXANDRIA, La. – No. 17 Texas Wesleyan outscored No. 14 Vanguard 28-11 in the third quarter, the deciding factor in Wednesday's 78-70 loss in the second round of the 2023 NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament.
The fourth-seeded Lions won the other three quarters, but could not survive the third period surge by the No. 5 seed Rams that turned their two-point halftime deficit into a 15-point lead.
Vanguard sliced the deficit to single digits in the fourth period, but struggled to make shots consistently. The Lions hoisted up 35 three-point attempts – the second-most in a game this season – but connected on only seven of them. That included six straight misses from distance in the fourth period when VU looked to threaten Texas Wesleyan's lead.
Texas Wesleyan's swarming press bothered VU into 17 turnovers, which the Rams converted into 25 points. The Rams also were aggressive on the offensive glass and extended possessions with 17 offensive rebounds, including nine by Zarria Carter.
Halle Si'i (FR/Long Beach, CA) led the Lions with 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and a steal. Melissa Akullu (JR/Kampala, Uganda) notched 13 points and 11 rebounds for her 16th double-double. She also had a pair of blocked shots.
Estefania Giner (SR/Chihuahua, Mexico) chipped in 12 points, four rebounds and two assists. Sarah Matossian (SO/Laguna Niguel, CA) had seven points and seven rebounds to lead the bench effort.
The Lions shot 36.1 (22-of-61) percent for the game. They made 19-of-25, 76.0 percent, at the free throw line. Texas Wesleyan shot 41.8 percent (28-of-67) overall, including 46.2 (6-of-13) percent from three-point range. The Rams struggled at the charity stripe, hitting 59.3 (16-of-27) percent overall.
Carter finished with a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead the Rams. Taryn Wills added 20 points and Kertisa Amos finished with 17.
The Lions concluded the season 22-7.
What Happened?: The Lions led 34-32 at halftime, but fell victim to a Texas Wesleyan onslaught at the beginning of the third period. The Rams opened with an 8-0 run to seize a 40-34 lead, aided by a pair of Amos layups.
The Lions called timeout and immediately went inside to Akullu on the next possession, getting a layup from the 6-1 center to get within four.
But the Rams scored the next 10 points, amounting to an 18-2 run that put the Lions in a significant hole. VU committed six turnovers during that stretch that Texas Wesleyan converted into nine points.
Trailing 50-36, the Lions continued to misfire from three-point range and finished the third period just 3-for-11 overall, while the Rams shot 13-of-25. The Lions scored five of their 11 points in the quarter from the foul line.
TWU led by as many as 17 points at 60-43 with 1:51 to go before two Lauren Baumgartner (SR/Meridian, ID) free throws closed the deficit to 15 at the end of the third.
The Rams provided opportunities for the Lions to recharge in the fourth quarter, missing six of their first eight shots. But TWU snagged offensive rebounds on five of the six misses to prolong possessions.
Matossian scored five straight points to pull VU within 65-54 with 5:42 to play, and the Lions cut the deficit to single digits as Si'i followed with a layup.
Si'i made a layup and got fouled, converting the free throw to keep VU within nine at 70-61 with 3:03 on the clock. But the Lions missed their next three field goal attempts and Wills drained a dagger three to extend the Ram lead to 73-61 with 2:02 remaining.
Baumgartner canned a three with 23 seconds remaining as VU trailed by eight, but the Lions ran out of time. VU outscored the Rams 25-18 in the fourth period but shot just 2-of-9 from three.
The Lions fell behind 7-0 to start the game but inched their way back to a 10-10 tie on a Giner jumper at the 3:03 mark. Si'i converted 1-of-2 free throws to give the Lions their first lead, 17-16, to conclude the first quarter.
VU utilized a 9-0 run spanning the first and second quarters to build a 23-16 lead as Faith Boss (FR/Torrance, CA) and Giner fired off back-to-back threes. Alexa Silva (SO/Lemoore, CA) nailed a pair of threes to help VU build its biggest lead of eight points, 34-26, with 1:37 to go before halftime.
But the Rams scored six straight points to deflate VU's momentum, and the Lions settled for a 34-32 lead at the break.
What Was Said?: "Tough one tonight," said Head Coach Russ Davis. "We won three of the four quarters and the third was a difference maker. We have nothing to be ashamed of, as we had an amazing season and fought some crazy circumstances. I'm super proud of our team and especially our three legendary seniors – Lo, Hannah and Fanny played their last game tonight and gave me everything they had for four years. They made an incredible impact in this program and on this campus.
"I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to coach them. Family forever. We will be back even stronger next year and on a mission to get even farther. Thanks to this team for an incredible season and thanks to all of our fans and supporters. Special shout out to the Athletic Trainer staff for loving and caring on our players."
