COSTA MESA -- Chaminade University of Honolulu scored first last night in the women's basketball matchup between the Silverswords and the Lions, but that was the teams only lead of the contest.  VU tied the game at the other end and never trailed again in the Pacific West Conference matchup, as the Lions won 79-49.  Vanguard improved to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in PacWest play, while CUH dropped to 0-7, 0-3.
 
What Happened?  The Silverswords claimed the first bucket of the night 56 seconds in, but Emma Schaaf began her rise to the game's leader in points scored with a layup a minute later.  Micaela Hanning buried the first triple of the engagement after that as the Lions heaped nine unanswered points on CUH after their first layup.  As the advantage neared 10 points for VU, Schaaf and Kaylee Byon closed out the scoring for the Blue and Gold in the first quarter to put the Vanguard lead at 18-6.
 
The foul count started to rise in the second period, as both teams combined for 48 infractions in the conference clash.  VU went 9-for-11 from the stripe in the second and shot 37.5% from the floor, the best of the rate of the half, and outscored Chaminade 23-8 to lead 41-14 at halftime. 
 
Vanguard scored 23 points again in the third, although the Silverswords answered with a team-high 19 points in the interval.  CUH shot 61.5% from the floor while Vanguard hit at a 47.3% clip, but the lead never dropped below 25 points.  Even though the visitors won the final period 16-15, it never put Vanguard's lead in jeopardy, as the home side won by 30.
 
Schaaf had a game-high 21 points, going 6-for-8 from the free-throw line and 7-of-18 from the field in addition to tallying a team-high seven rebounds.  Hanning shot 50% on the night from the field (5-10) and from beyond the arc (3-6) to grab 14 points, adding three rebounds and assists to her line as well.  Jaryn Madsen splashed down from deep three times and claimed 13 points and five boards.  Byon had a match-high five assists and Kayla Boozer tied Madsen with five rebounds.  Vanguard shot 38.2% from the field (26-for-68), went 8-of-30 from deep (26.7%), and made 19 free throws on 26 attempts (73.1%). CUH shot 36.2% from the field and went 11-for-19 from the charity stripe.  Vanguard held a 42-36 edge in rebounds and had a 21-5 lead in turnovers for the night, aided by three blocks from Schaaf and three steals from her and Byon.
 
 
What's Next?  The Blue and Gold host the Sunbirds of Fresno Pacific on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.