ATHERTON, Calif. -- In a wacky Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game in women's basketball, Vanguard and The Master's exchanged dominant quarters.  The two sides reversed various deficits but it would be TMU who had the hot streak at the right time, as the Mustangs pulled away over the final five minutes of the fourth period to win 68-65 and clinch the GSAC automatic NAIA National Tournament berth.  Vanguard falls to 20-5 overall and TMU goes to 25-6.
 
Melissa Akullu had another fabulous night, as she potted 23 points to lead all players and also handled eight rebounds.  Jaryn Madsen was next with 15 points for VU and Sarah Matossian had nine.
 
Despite a couple of cold streaks, the Lions shot 44.6% for the game and 50% from downtown (7-for-14). However, it was a rare game when the Lions had an even rebound count with their opponents as both sides had 32 boards, with VU up 10-9 on the offensive glass.  VU had slim edges in points in the paint (32-26), points off turnovers (15-12), and had one less turnover than the Mustangs (9-10) in the contest. 
 
 
What Happened?  Matossian nailed back-to-back threes to open the scoring in the game but TMU tallied the next five points.  Halle Si'i responded with a layup and free throws by Madsen put the VU lead at 10-5 after five minutes of play.  Each team scored seven more points the rest of the frame, as the alternate scoring put Vanguard ahead 17-12 after the first quarter.
 
The VU outlook seemed to dim as the second quarter wore on, as the Mustangs outscored the Lions 23-13 in the frame.  At the outset, a layup for Akullu and a three by Ashlin Crabtree equaled the five points that the Mustangs scored in the first minute of the new quarter.  However, TMU went on a 7-0 run after that which gave the #3 seed a 27-22 advantage with 5:37 left in the half.  Madsen banked in a layup to end the streak and she drilled a three with 4:01 to go to bring the gap down to 29-27.  But The Master's counter-attacked with six unanswered points to snag a 35-27 edge.  Still, Madsen had one more three left in her, which she hit with 1:18 to go in the period, dropping the TMU lead to 35-30 at halftime.
 
TMU shot 50% from the floor in the first half and a blistering 64.3% from the field in the second quarter alone.  The Mustangs also had a slim 18-17 edge in rebounds in the first half.  The Lions shot 36.7% from the floor in the first two periods but did convert at a 54.5% rate from downtown.
 
A new dawn broke for the Blue and Gold in the third as the defense suffocated TMU to a 28.6% shooting percentage, as the Lions conquered the quarter 22-9.  Akullu feasted over those 10 minutes as she scored half of the VU points in the frame (11), with five others making one field goal.  The Mustangs made all nine of their points over the first 2:20 of the period to lead 44-36, but the team was held scoreless after that.  VU tied the contest at 44-44 with 4:59 to go off an Akullu free throw and a layup by Natalie Scherzer with three seconds left capped the 16-0 stretch to put the Lions ahead 52-44 entering the final 10 minutes of play.
 
Yet just as the rays of light seemed to glint off the championship trophy, the Mustangs reminded the Lions why they split the season series.  With a 14-6 run over the first six-plus minutes of the first half, The Master's erased the 52-44 deficit and tied things at 58-58 with 4:24 remaining in the game.   TMU further damaged VU chances to win with six-straight points, with a layup by Si'i with 1:45 to go ending the run and cutting the gap to 64-60.  Akullu banked in another close shot with 55 seconds remaining to make it a 64-62 score, but TMU made two free throws after a foul.  With the clock running, Si'i made a quick cut to open a shooting lane, but she missed the triple.  Vanguard had to foul and TMU made one more free throw to go ahead 67-62.  The Lions sprinted up the court and a late triple by Madsen with four seconds on the board made it close, but time ran out on the late surge, as TMU took the Tournament title 68-65.
 
Akullu made 11-of-18 shots on the night and had an even 4-4 split in offensive and defensive boards.  Madsen went 3-5 from beyond the arc and Matossian had two triples in the game.  Crabtree had seven points on 2-of-2 shooting to finish fourth on VU.  Si'i had six assists, two ahead of Matossian's four. TMU shot 46.2% from the floor in the game and had three players score in double figures.
 
What was Said?  "Tough loss," said Head Coach Russ Davis.  "Congrats to TMU on the win.  We really struggled guarding them the final six minutes of the game and had some really bad turnovers on big possessions.  Also, foul trouble really hurt us.  Marin (Lenz) shot as many free throws as out entire team.  We will work on Nationals now."
 
What's Next?  The Lions will wait to if they make and where they would go for the NAIA National Tournament, with the selection show released Thursday, March 7, at 5:00 p.m. PT.