COSTA MESA – Melissa Akullu posted her fifth 30-point effort of the season as the 12th-ranked Vanguard women's basketball team cruised to a 91-45 victory over OUAZ on Saturday at Orange Coast College.
The Lions improved to 13-3 on the season and remained in second place in the Golden State Athletic Conference with a 6-1 mark. The Spirit dropped to 10-7 overall and 0-7 in conference play.
Akullu collected a game-high 12 rebounds to secure her ninth straight double-double and 13th on the season. The center made 11 of 19 floor shots and 8 of 11 at the free throw line while adding two assists, a block and four steals to her stat line.
Junior Sarah Matossian scored 18 points on 7 of 11 shooting. The forward chipped in five rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.
Hot shooting Airiana Madanski hit five threes and finished with 15 points for the second straight game. The guard is shooting 10-for-17 (58.8%) from distance during that stretch.
Sophomore point guard Halle Si'i just missed a double-double as she ended up with nine points and a game-high 10 assists to go along with four rebounds and three steals.
The Lions, which scored 20 points or more in all four quarters, saw Zoe Duggan hit her first career three and freshman Naomi Hotchkiss notch her first collegiate bucket.
VU shot 49.2 (32 of 65) percent for the game. The Lions had one of their better games at the foul line, finishing at 20 of 25 overall – the third time this season they've shot 80 percent or better.
The Blue and Gold scored 31 points off of 31 OUAZ turnovers. VU also stifled the visitors from distance as the Spirit went 0 of 14 overall.
OUAZ was led by 10 points and six rebounds from Brianna Humphries.
What Happened?: The Lions imposed their will with a tough, trapping defense from the outset in building a 25-10 lead after one quarter and 49-22 cushion at halftime.
The Lions trailed once in the game – following a jumper by OUAZ's Makayla Holthaus – but back-to-back layups by Si'i and Akullu gave VU a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way.
VU shot 90.9 (10 of 11) percent at the charity stripe in the first quarter with Akullu making all five of her attempts.
The Lions bridged the first and second quarters with a 18-2 run, as VU led 37-12 following a Si'i layup at the 5:09 mark. VU hit its first four shots in the period and held OUAZ to just one bucket over the first five minutes to build the bulge.
Madanski went 3 of 3 from distance in the second quarter as VU led comfortably by 27 points at halftime.
VU opened up its first 30-point lead as another Madanski triple made the score 52-22 in the third. Back-to-back Matossian buckets widened the lead to 34, and two free throws from the forward ended the quarter with VU leading 71-33.
Two Natalie Scherzer free throws to begin the fourth gave VU its first 40-point lead at 73-33. Duggan splashed her first career three as a Lion with 1:45 to play, and a putback by Hotchkiss off a missed free throw thrilled the VU bench and the crowd.
Brittney Tran hit two free throws with 59 seconds remaining to provide VU with its largest lead and final margin of victory at 91-45.
Why Is It Important?: The Lions kept pace with GSAC-leading Menlo, which improved to 7-0 in league play with a win over Life Pacific on Saturday.
What Was Said?: "We played together as a team today," said Assistant Coach Sierra Vaglica. "We were able to score both on the inside with Melissa dominating down low and from behind the arc with Airiana knocking down shots. We definitely have some things to clean up and work on this week, and we are excited to keep growing as a team."
What's Next?: Vanguard travels to The Master's for a game on Thursday, February 1 at 5:30 p.m.
