SURPRISE, Ariz.  --  Vanguard women's basketball are at the least co-champions in the Golden State Athletic Conference this season.  The Lions started the Arizona road trip on Thursday night against the Spirit of OUAZ and VU completed the season sweep with a 63-53 victory.  The Lions outscored their hosts in every period and received 20 points from Melissa Akullu to lead all players.  VU improves to 18-4 overall and 11-2 in GSAC play and remain one game ahead of Menlo with one game left on the docket.  OUAZ falls to 8-13 overall and 0-13 in conference action.
 
 
What Happened?  The Spirit had two turnovers over the first minute and the Lions opened the scoring after Akullu grabbed an offensive rebound and banked the ball in off the glass.  While the Lions had controlled the first edition of the matchup, the Spirit were more engaged at home, as OUAZ tied things at 2-2 on the next possession.  Jaryn Madsen put in a layup off a breakaway to put the Blue and Gold ahead 4-2, but once more, the Spirit tied the score at 4-4.  The two remained within five points of each other as the period moved along, but VU then went on a short run.  A fastbreak layup for Akullu put the Lions up 11-8 and she would make a similar score soon thereafter to make it a 13-8 lead.  However, the Spirit netted the final four points of the frame to cut the gap to 13-12 entering the second period.
 
Even though it was the lowest-scoring quarter of the contest, the second frame proved to be a huge reason why the Lions would go on to win.  The Blue and Gold witnessed Akullu tally seven of the team's 10 points, with Alexa Silva making a triple for the only other VU basket.  But the defense was sensational, as the squad held OUAZ to only two field goals for five points in the second.  Up 23-17 at halftime, the Lions shot 34.4% from the field in the first half, with OUAZ at a 36.3% clip.
 
Halle Si'i and Akullu each scored over the opening minutes of the third to push the Vanguard edge to eight points but the Spirit would not go away.  The home side whittled the lead down to 29-26 over the next three minutes, but Akullu and Si'i responded quickly, with each player scoring to return the lead to five points at 33-28.  Free throws made by that duo increased the lead to seven and Akullu laid in the final bucket of the frame with three seconds left to put VU ahead 39-30 entering the final period.
 
With a second chance layup falling in for Sarah Matossian to open the quarter, the Vanguard lead reached over 10 points for the first time in the game at 41-30.  The rest of the fourth saw both teams score almost evenly and more frequently than the other three quarters, as VU narrowly won the period 24-23.  But though there was an increase in scoring, the Lions did not let the lead fall below seven points.  The Vanguard advantage ping-ponged between 8-to-12 points, but the team had a rebutal to every OUAZ attempt at a comeback.  Ashlin Crabtree made all of her 10 points in the final frame, hitting a free throw to set the final score at 63-53. 
 
Vanguard shot 39.6% from the floor in the game (21-53) and made 21.1% of shots from downtown.  The Spirit rested on a 45.1% field goal percentage for the game and had a 28.6% conversion rate from deep.  The VU lead could have been higher, as the Blue and Gold held a 36-9 lead in free throw opportunities, but the Lions made only 17 of their chances for a 47.2% clip.  Vanguard held a 41-34 edge in rebounds, benefitting from an 18-9 edge on the offensive glass.
 
Akullu was 9-for-12 from the field on the night and nabbed seven rebounds, with Si'i next in scoring with 14 points.  Matossian had herself a night, as she potted a double-double with 11 points and a career-high 18 rebounds, seven of them on the offensive glass, to lead VU.  She also paced the lineup with four assists.  Crabtree's performance off the bench placed her fourt on the team in scoring and she led the Lions by going 3-for-5 from downtown.
 
What was Said?  "I'm really proud of our team coming out with a win," said Head Coach Russ Davis.  "It was our most physical game of the season for sure.  It was hard to get in a rhythm.  We clinched at least a share of the GSAC title and that is our 13th total championship.  I'm very proud of all those teams this one for battling through so much adversity.  We give all glory to God and we're very thankful.  We still have a lot of season left and we are not finished yet"

He continued, "Sarah was great on the boards, Ashlyn made some huge threes for us down the stretch, and we stepped up tonight."
 
Why is it Important? If this turns out to be the final matchup between the two programs, VU will conclude with a 9-1 record against the Spirit, with the only loss coming via forfeit during the COVID procedures of 2021-22.  The Spirit will miss the GSAC Tournament.  Menlo had Life Pacific tonight and walked through to a victory, meaning the Lions need to win on Saturday to become solo champions.
 
What's Next?  The Lions play Arizona Christian on Saturday at 11:00 a.m.