SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- The first win for Vanguard women's basketball was tantalizingly close on Saturday night but the Nighthawks of Northwest Nazarene escaped with a 56-53 victory. The Lions were ahead at the end of the first half but had a slow third period that allowed the Nighthawks surge into the lead. The Blue and Gold frantically trimmed the NWN lead to one point with under a minute to go but could not cap the rally with a win, as free throws by NWN made the gap three points at the buzzer. VU falls to 0-4 and the Nighthawks improve to 3-2.
Sarah Matossian and
Emma Schaaf reached double figures in scoring for the Lions, with Matossian tying for the game-high with 14 and Schaaf adding 13. A 28.3% shooting rate from the floor in the contest did not help the Lions, but the squad did have a lead in all rebound categories.
What Happened? It took almost two minutes for the teams to get a bucket, with NWN striking first on a layup. The Nighthawks rolled of the next five unanswered points but a layup at the 6:46 mark by
Ashlin Crabtree put VU on the board. That produced some positive energy, as a triple by Crabtree and free throws by
Hunter Simon quickly tied the score at 7-7 with 4:01 left in the quarter.
Alexa Silva splashed down with a three two minutes later to put the Lions ahead 10-9 and
Aryanna Hudson concluded the scoring with a free throw to give Vanguard an 11-9 edge entering the second.
The two sides would be tied six times in the second frame, though Northwest Nazarene secured the first four points of the quarter. Matossian responded with a nice layup off the window and drew a foul in the process to put the Lions ahead 14-13. NWN struck for the next six points, but
Jaryn Madsen had the rebuttal, as she drilled back-to-back threes, with
Halle Si'i and Matossian collecting the assists. Si'i would then knot the score up at 24-all with a tidy layup with 37 seconds to go and Matossian swiped a steal on ensuing defensive stand. That sprung Madsen free in transition and she connected from downtown for the third time in three minutes to give the Blue and Gold a 27-24 lead at the half.
The third quarter belonged to Schaaf for the Lions, as the freshman netted all nine Vanguard points. She got a layup to extend the VU lead to 29-26 early in the period, added a three-pointer 40 seconds later, and converted two more field goals after that. Unfortunately, the Nighthawks doubled her up with 18 points as a team to enter the fourth quarter ahead 42-36.
Matossian and Schaaf each hit their first shots of the fourth round but Northwest Nazarene would lead 47-40 with 8:40 to go. That lead held for the enxt five minutes, as the Nighthawks would hold a 51-42 edge with 3:48 to go. But Lions were not done, as a transition three by Matossian sliced the gap to 51-45. Trailing 52-45 with a minute to go, the Lions benefitted from their ability to drive the lane. Hudson and Matossian got to the free throw line and made both shots, trimming the deficit to 52-49 with 41 seconds to go. Matossian chipped in two more free throws with 22 ticks left on the clock to pull Vanguard within one at 52-51. However, the Nighthawks heaved the inbounds pass down the court and got a layup to go back up by three. Si'i sprinted down the court and got fouled with eight seconds to go and her two free throws pulled VU to within one again at 54-53. But it was not to be, as NWN made two shots from the charity stripe with six seconds left to secure the 56-53 win.
Matossian was 4-for-12 from the field, made one of her four shots from deep, and was a perfect 5-of-5 from the line. She added 10 rebounds to tie Schaaf for the team lead, with six of Matossian's boards coming in the offensive end. Schaaf was 6-of-8 from the floor and added two blocks on the night. Both Si'i and Madsen had four assists. The Lions were at their best in the second period, shooting 40% from the floor, but were under 30% in the other three frames. On a positive note, the Blue and Gold only missed one free throw in the game (12-13) and had a 15-10 edge in offensive rebounds and a 29-28 lead in defensive ones.
What was Said? "Lost another tough one. You have to keep battling. Hard to have 18 turnovers and shoot 28% and win," said Head Coach
Russ Davis. "But we still had a chance to win on the last possession. We will keep up the fight. We have to clean some things up and we will be fine, I believe in them."
What's Next? The Lions will finally be at home on Wednesday, November 21 for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff against Westcliff.
