COSTA MESA, Calif. --- VU women's basketball played confidently in an 82-47 blowout win against Hawaii Pacific University in their return to the Freed Center on Saturday afternoon. The 35-point win marked the second game in a row that VU scored at least 80 points, the first occurrence since they did it twice in January 2023.  The Blue and Gold also avenged their only Pacific West Conference loss so far from earlier in the year at HPU. The Lions win their fourth straight to improve to 10-5, 8-1. The Sharks drop to 7-6, 3-4, as the Lions hand them their largest margin of defeat in the PacWest since 2007.

Emma Schaaf had a game-high 17 points on 7-11 shooting while adding eight rebounds and three blocks. Halle Si'i and Jaryn Madsen each had 15 points. Si'I contributed five assists and five rebounds, while Madsen went 5-6 from deep. Ashlin Crabtree was the final Lion in double-figures, finishing with 13 points and three rebounds on 5-of-9 shooting from the field. Sarah Matossian was one point shy of her eighth double-double of the season, as the senior totaled nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds, with five being offensive. HPU's Morgan Hawkins led the Sharks with 16 points, as the freshman capped her career-high by shooting 6-for-12 from the floor.

VU scored 47.8 percent of their shots (32-67) and flushed a season-best 48 percent (12-25) of their three-pointers. That is the fifth time that the Blue and Gold have hit double-digits in three-point makes this campaign. HPU was held to a season-low 47 points and shot a conference-low 28 percent (16-58) from the field. A cluster of the PacWest's best rebounders and shot blockers meant both teams finished with similar splits in rebounds (40-37 VU) and blocks (5-4 HPU). Vanguard and Hawaii Pacific each shot perfectly from the charity stripe, with HPU making 10 and VU hitting six.

What Happened? The first quarter was undoubtedly the closest, as Madsen scored six of the first eight VU points for an 8-4 lead. HPU, who are within the top three in the conference in three-point shooting, saw immediate production off the bench to match the shooting tempo of the Lions, as the visitors trailed 12-10 off triple with 4:11 to go. Crabtree connected on a triple in transition to put VU up five (15-10) before the Sharks snipped it down to two with a trey on the other end. Aryanna Hudson, who scored five in the win, hit a triple to end the quarter to put the home side up 21-16.

The Blue and Gold kicked into gear in the remaining three quarters and the lead without much affliction. HPU would score just ten field goals in the remainder of the game (10-38) and just one three-pointer (1-14) after their strong showing from three in the opening interval. Matossian and Si'i each produced candidates for the assist of the day in the second quarter. Matossian managed a pass in the pocket for Madsen whilst falling to the ground, and Si'I sent a gorgeous one-handed heave on the fast break to Schaaf for a 15-point-lead (40-25) with 3:08 left in the first half.

Vanguard, who led 14-7 in assists, continued to be unselfish as Crabtree made the extra pass to Madsen, who drilled a three to put Vanguard past the 50-point mark in the third frame. The lead cranked to 31 after Si'i nailed her second triple of the third quarter, hoisting VU up 72-41. Quarter four saw the fewest points scored, as both sides combined for 16 points. Brittney Tran, Naomi Hotchkiss, and Akilah Kubi all chipped in the final VU points of the day, with Kubi sinking a baseline jumper to end the dominant home win.

What was Said?  "Another good win today.  The ladies wanted to show that we were better than how we played in Hawaii," said Head Coach Russ Davis.  "Great balance again and solid defense to hold them under 50.  Emma was awesome running the floor and finishing today, and Sarah was great on the boards.  When Ash and Jaryn are hitting like that, we are tough to beat.  Halle had a great floor game as well.  I like how we only had one turnover heading into the fourth quarter and only six for the game.  We will continue to work on getting better and improving."

What's Next? VU plays in the second of a three-game home stand against Hawaii Hilo on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on, Monday, January 20, at 5:30 p.m.