COSTA MESA -- The Vanguard women's basketball team kept pace with the league leaders Monday night with a victory over the University of Hawaii Hilo Vulcans. The 77-52 decision saw the Lions trail for all of 13 seconds in the opening quarter and get another brilliant game from
Emma Schaaf. She ended tied for a game-high 19 points, owned a game-high 11 rebounds, and paced all players with a season-high five blocks. The Lions improve to 11-5 overall and go to 9-1 in Pacific West Conference action while taking the first matchup between the two schools. UHH falls to 3-11, 1-7.
Ashlin Crabtree paced VU with four conversions from downtown and netted 14 points on the night, while
Sarah Matossian finished just shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. The Lions went from shooting 45% in the first frame to 53% in the second, 64% in the third, and 60% in the fourth for a 54.2% rate for the contest. VU led the rebound count 43-34 but Hilo had a 13-8 edge in offensive boards.
What Happened? Schaaf pounced for the first tallies of the night, as she swept through the key and got a tidy pass from
Halle Si'i to put VU up 2-0 14 seconds in. Si'i and Schaaf each added layups over the next three minutes to put the Lion lead at 6-4 before Crabtree buried her first three of the night. A pair of triples from the Vulcans gave the visitors a short-lived lead (10-9), as Schaaf made a three in reply to put the Lions ahead 12-10. A layup by Crabtree off the glass and a splash down from deep by Matossian pushed the Vanguard edge to 21-15 at the end of the first quarter.
The Vulcans nailed a three to open the second period, but the Vanguard lead would hit 11 points with 4:22 to go in the half on a strong finish by
Akilah Kubi in the paint. Crabtree and
Nyla Cabine each cashed in triples before the period expired to make the halftime score 41-26.
A layup from Si'i and another deep three by Crabtree in the first 1:02 of the third frame put the lead over 20 at 46-26, and after the midway mark of the frame, the lead would never dip below 20.
Aryanna Hudson had a lovely spell in the middle of the third, as she took a well-weighted pass from Matossian and scooped in a layup. She then weaved past a defender and nailed a jumper from the free throw line the next time down before driving the lane the next possession and flipping the ball to Matossian, who swished the open three. Hudson capped her good run of form with another layup to net six points, two rebounds, and one assist in just over two minutes.
Brittney Tran drilled a triple in the fourth quarter and made two other shots for seven points, while Kubi tallied four.
Alexa Silva made one of her two jumpers in the game. Matossian, Si'i, Hudson, and Crabtree dished out three assists each, a season-high for Crabtree. VU shot 44% from downtown in the game and went 2-for-7 from the charity stripe.
Why is it Important? The Lions welcome Point Loma next and VU is now tied with the Sea Lions for second in the PacWest standings, a game back of APU. The Cougars have played one more game than both squads, so a win by Vanguard would put the team in the lead of the conference. VU will host APU and travel to PLNU later in the season.
What's Next? The Sea Lions will tip off against the Lions at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday night.
