WICHITA, Kan. -- Vanguard women's basketball attempted to advance in the NAIA National Tournament on Saturday against #7 Briar Cliff (Iowa).  The Lions held a halftime lead but the Chargers mounted a comeback in the third quarter, and the two sides exchanged leads over the final five minutes of the contest.  Melissa Akullu put VU ahead 68-67 with 11 seconds to go, but after a BC timeout, a layup with eight seconds on the board put the Chargers ahead by one and the Blue and Gold came up just short with a 69-68 defeat.  Vanguard concludes the year at 21-6.
 
 
What Happened? Jaryn Madsen made the first basket of the game just over a minute in, as a pass from Sarah Matossian found her open beyond the arc to put VU ahead 3-0.  Akullu had the next four Vanguard tallies but Briar Cliff rattled off five unanswered points to swing ahead 10-5.  But Ashlin Crabtree and Madsen splashed down from deep after that to return the lead to the Blue and Gold at 13-12.  VU remained at an arms-distance the rest of the period, with a Halle Si'i jumper with 35 seconds left giving the Lions a 17-14 advantage entering the second period.
 
Vanguard had its most productive quarter in the second, as the squad outscored BC 21-16.  The lead grew to six points off another Crabtree triple and though the Chargers made a couple of small counterattacks, the Lions remained in the lead for the whole quarter.  VU posted a 10-2 run through the middle stages and led 33-22 with 5:05 to go thanks to a free throw by Brittney Tran.  Briar Cliff returned to a better form towards the end of the half, as the lead fell to 36-30.  But Si'i was given a chance on the final possession of the period.  She waited for the clock to run down, crossed up her defender, drove, and scored right before the buzzer to put the halftime lead at 38-30.
 
But the tables turned in the third quarter, as BC outscored the Lions 21-11.  But despite that barrage, the Lions did enough to stay competitive and in the lead for almost the entire period.  A late field goal for the Chargers as time expired in the frame put Briar Cliff ahead 51-49 for BC's first lead since the first quarter. 
 
With the season on the line, both teams gave it their all over the final 10 minutes.  A Matossian triple 18 seconds into the period put VU back on top 52-51 and an Akullu free throw made it 53-51.  A three for BC put the Chargers ahead 56-55, but Akullu had the answer with a nice bank shot to swing the edge back to VU 57-56. 

The Lions continued to stay in front by one or two points over the first five minutes and change of the quarter, but the Chargers started to take control over the final four minutes.  BC tied things at 60-all with 4:16 remaining and jumped back on top twice more over the next three minutes to hold a 65-64 lead with 1:45 left to go.  Both teams then went a little could, but  the action heated up again for a final minute filled with drama.

A layup by Si'i with 39 seconds left was answered by a jumper by BC just 17 ticks later, resulting in Vanguard calling a timeout with 20 seconds to go down 67-66. The Lions gave Si'i the rock and she once more created some space with a slick move, and though she missed the jumper, Akullu was under the basket for the offensive board and the put-back to send the Lions ahead 68-67 with 11 ticks left.  Briar Cliff took a timeout and their inbounds play worked, as a drive and a layup somehow went in to put the Chargers up 69-67 with eight seconds to go.  VU took another timeout and Matossian was forced to launch a deep three and it came up short, as Briar Cliff took the win.
 
The Lions shot 54% from the floor in the game (27-50) and 50% (9-18) from downtown.  BC was held to a 38.6% rate from the floor and a 27.6% mark from deep.  Both teams had 12 free throw attempts, with VU making five and BC seven.  The Lions won the rebound battle 40-33 but the Chargers held a 17-11 edge in offensive boards, which equated to a 19-12 lead in second-chance points.  VU's 20 turnovers were turned into 21 BC points.
 
Akullu led VU with 18 points and 11 rebounds, with Si'i second with 14 and Crabtree third with 12 points on 3-of-4 shooting from downtown. 
 
 
What was Said?  "That was a really tough loss," said Head Coach Russ Davis.  "Two games in a row, we had Melissa and Jaryn sit the majority of the first half with foul trouble.  We battled and had some costly mistakes that ultimately proved to be the difference.  20 turnovers, and we gave up 17 offensive rebounds.  With that said, this team had a fantastic season and I'm proud to be their coach.  Regular season GSAC Champs and advancing to the second round, with the adversity we faced, is outstanding.  This game takes nothing away from what we accomplished.  This is a special group.  I'm sad that this is the last game I get to coach Mel and Airiana Madanski.  They are quality student-athletes and class acts with incredible character.  Once again, we had a great year and I'm really proud of this team."