SAN DIMAS, Calif. – Melissa Akullu and Jaryn Madsen accounted for 42 of Vanguard's 64 points, and the women's basketball overcame some struggles at the foul line to pull out a 64-58 win at Life Pacific on Saturday.
The Lions played without sophomore All-American point guard Halle Si'i in improving to 11-3 overall and 4-1 in the Golden State Athletic Conference. Alexa Silva ran the show and played a career-high 38 minutes, finishing with seven points, three rebounds and three steals.
Akullu had another All-American performance of her own as she collected 25 points and 19 rebounds on 10 of 21 shooting. She added two assists, a block and a steal. Madsen tied her season high with 17 points and established a career best with nine rebounds to go along with two assists and three steals.
VU shot just 17.6 (3 of 17) percent from the floor in the fourth quarter, including 0 of 9 from distance.
The Lions finished at 33.3 (21 of 63) percent for the game and 20.0 (5 of 25) percent from the free throw line. VU also labored at the charity stripe at 50.0 (17 of 34) percent.
However, Life Pacific took just nine free throw attempts for the game as the Lions did a good job limiting their fouls. The Warriors made 5 of 9 at the stripe, although they did have more field goals (22) and three-pointers made (9) than the Lions.
Kyori Lloyd had a team-high 16 points for LPU (10-7, 1-4), followed by 15 from Faith Schwantner.
What Happened?: The Lions overcame a six-point halftime deficit after outscoring the Warriors 22-13 in the third quarter. The Lions trailed 49-42 with 2:09 to go before putting together a 10-1 finishing spurt.
Akullu scored six points during the surge, and Natalie Scherzer splashed a three-pointer with two seconds remaining to give the Blue and Gold a 53-50 lead.
The two teams combined for 0 of 16 three-point shooting in the fourth period as the Warriors had their chances to overtake the Lions. Akullu scored on the inside to put the Lions up 55-50 to begin the final stanza.
The Warriors cut the VU deficit to one on two occasions – the final time at 59-58 on a Lloyd Layup – but Sarah Matossian responded with a crucial basket at the 1:49 mark. Crabtree made a big steal on Schwantner with 24 seconds to go. The Lions did enough at the free throw line to finish the game out behind Silva and Madsen.
VU had a solid first quarter to break out to a 21-11 lead, aided by a 9-0 start to the game. Madsen had nine points and the Lions held LPU to 4 of 18 shooting, including 2 of 13 from distance.
The script flipped in the second period as the Warriors outscored VU 26-10. Schwantner got hot with 11 points in the frame as LPU shot 10 of 17 overall. The Warriors went on a 20-3 run as Sophia Ganino's jumper gave LPU a 34-29 lead with 3:14 to go.
Why Is It Important?: The Lions held their opponent under 40 percent shooting for the 10th time in 14 games.
What Was Said?: "We found a way to win without All-American and leading scorer Halle," said Head Coach Russ Davis. "We obviously didn't play our best. However, that was also due to Life Pacific playing with confidence and great effort. Give them credit on how they competed and got after it. Kyler Kennedy has done a tremendous job of revamping that program in his second year. I'm really impressed with what he's done. Jaryn, Melissa and Alexa really stepped up tonight and some of our freshmen did some nice things off the bench. Sarah had big offensive boards down the stretch. We have to be better from the free throw line."
What's Next?: VU returns home to battle Arizona Christian on Thursday, January 25 at Orange Coast College. Tip time is 5:30 p.m.
