GLENDALE, Ariz.  -- The trophy is ours!  Vanguard women's basketball won its first Golden State Athletic Conference Championship since the 2016-17 campaign Saturday, as the Lions beat Arizona Christian 78-62.  It is the 13th regular season championship in program history.  Melissa Akullu caps her final regular season game with 25 points and 15 rebounds to lead all players.  The Lions end the season at 19-4 overall and 12-2 in GSAC play, while ACU falls to 17-11, 7-7.  The Lions will be the top seed in the conference tournament that starts on February 29 at Menlo.
 
 
What Happened?  It was not a cakewalk to aquire the title, as Arizona Christian kept things close during the first two quarters.  The Blue and Gold did get off to a good start, as a layup for Halle Si'i and a three by Jaryn Madsen helped the Lions to a 5-0 run over the first two minutes of the game.  The lead remained around five points until an Akullu bucket with 3:13 to go in the frame put the Lions on top 14-7.  ACU closed things back to five points, and though Sarah Matossian converted a jumper with 40 seconds to go, the Firestorm hit one of their own 20 seconds later.  That put the Vanguard lead at 18-13 heading into the second period.
 
The Lions opened the scoring in the second, as Matossian nailed a triple and Akullu banked in another layup to bump the VU lead to 23-15 over the first two minutes of the frame.  However, the Firestorm put up an 11-3 stretch over the ensuing four minutes to knot the score at 26-26.  ACU would take its first lead of the game shortly after, but Akullu made the next six Vanguard points to keep the team within striking distance.  ACU held a 36-32 lead with 40 seconds to go but Hunter Simon made a layup with 16 seconds remaining to make the halftime score 36-34 in favor of ACU.
 
With a title on the line, the Blue and Gold came out firing in the second half, outscoring ACU 44-26.  A Matossian jumper and an Airiana Madanski three trimmed the Firestorm edge to 42-39 midway through the third.  Neither side scored over the next two minutes, but Akullu got the Lions going again with a layup, which was soon followed by a a layup for Madanski to put Vanguard ahead 43-42.  Ahead for the first time in just over a quarter, the Lions did not let the lead slip, as a triple for Ashlin Crabtree made it a 46-42 advantage with 2:13 to go.  She and Madanski each splashed down another triple over the final 90 seconds of the third to keep ACU at an arms reach.  Akullu deposited a layup with 25 seconds left to cap a 15-4 run for the Lions over the final five minutes of the period to put the Blue and Gold ahead 54-46.  However, an ACU three with six seconds left made the score 54-49 entering the fourth.
 
Vanguard applied more pressure to start the final quarter, as Akullu banked in another layup and Crabtree sank her third three in just over seven minutes of game action to extend the advantage to 59-49.  But the Firestorm kept coming and narrowed the lead to five, which was where it remained during the middle part of the fourth.  But that began to change with five minutes to go.  Si'i made a pair of free throws and a downtown swish for Matossian put the Lions up 66-59 with 3:28 to go.  The Firestorm made a triple themselves, but Matossian buried another three the next time down the court to keep the VU lead at seven points.  A layup for Si'i with 2:08 left put the Lions up 71-62 and VU closed out the half on a 7-0 run, making five free throws to secure the win and the championship.
 
Vanguard shot 42.3% from the field for the game and 25.6% (10-39) from downtown.  ACU shot 41% from the floor in the contest and 29.2% (7-24) from deep.  VU held a 44-38 edge in rebounds and turned 13 offensive boards into 38 second-chance points.  The Lions also benefited from 21 ACU turnovers, cashing those in for 26 points. 
 
Second in scoring on the Lions was Matossian, who chipped in 17 points and came up with 11 rebounds.  Crabtree's team-high four threes gave her 12 points and Si'i had 11 points and seven assists. 
 
What's Was Said?  "I'm really proud of the girls for our finish," said Head Coach Russ Davis.  Regular season champs and the #1 seed in the tournament next week.  We had big games from Mel, Sarah, and Ashlyn.  Halle was making good decisions as the general on the floor.  Post-season, here we come, still more work to do."