Box Score COSTA MESA -- The 700th win for Head Coach Russ Davis was a wire-to-wire affair for the Vanguard Lions on Thursday night, as the team defeated Menlo 83-60.  The Oaks only tied the game up once during the clash, and the Lions forced 25 Menlo turnovers.  While there is no official leaderboard for coaching wins across all levels of college basketball, estimates up Davis inside the top 50.  Vanguard moved to 5-1 overall and got its first win of the Pacific West Conference season.  Menlo dropped to 2-5, 0-2.
 
 
What Happened?  It was a slower first quarter, as the sides combined for 20 points.  The Lions, however, netted 12 of those 20, with Jaryn Madsen snapping up the first triple of the time to open the scoring.  While neither side scored much over the next three minutes, a layup by Madsen and a trey for Aryanna Hudson cemented an 8-2 lead for VU halfway through the period.  The Oaks would close out the frame with a slight 6-4 edge in points to trail 20-12, but both teams shot below 30% in the first.
 
Micaela Hanning picked the pocket of an Oak and took it the distance to score to open the second interval, and an Emma Schaaf layup a minute later had the Lions ahead 16-8.  Five points by Hanning, a three and a layup, propelled the home side to a 21-8 lead, but the Oaks held the Lions off the board the next four minutes and evaporated the advantage to tie things at 21-all.  In response, Schaaf and Madsen made lay-ins to put the Blue and Gold back in the driver's seat at 25-21.  The two sides exchanged baskets over the next few minutes, but with 22 seconds to go in the half, Natalie Scherzer made an offensive rebound and kicked it to Schaaf, who sank the three to put Vanguard ahead 33-26 at halftime. 
 
Menlo had a better shooting rate in the first half (35.5%) than VU (26%), but the Lions had two more triples and a 33-22 advantage in rebounds after 20 minutes.
 
The Oaks closed to within five points over the first three minutes of play in the third quarter (37-32), but the Lions responded with a flurry of steals and scores to roll ahead 54-41 by quarter's end.  Kaylee Byon got the Blue and Gold going with a smart floater just inside the arc, and both Schaaf and Hanning converted shots from downtown.  VU went 10-for-18 in the period to clock a 55.6% shooting rate from the field in the third and forced eight MC turnovers for seven Vanguard points.
 
Madsen splashed down from deep to open the fourth, and after a Schaaf jumper, Hanning landed a straight-away three to bump the edge to 62-41.  MC made only a pair of free throws over the first four minutes of the frame, and Hanning made a beautiful, twisting drive that resulted in a layup and foul, with the freshman making the and-one.  VU outscored the Oaks 18-4 over the first five minutes of the fourth and 29-19 in the fourth to net the 83-60 win.
 
Schaaf climbed the ranks to lead all players with 22 points and 11 rebounds, making nine of her 14 shots and going 2-for-3 from deep.  Hanning was next with 20 points and a game-high five assists.  Madsen was the third Lion to hit double figures with 14 points.  Menlo had a better shooting rate (43%-40%) than Vanguard on the night, but the Lions had a 38%-29% edge in three-point shooting.  The Lions had a 47-35 lead in rebounds and a massive 23-7 advantage in offensive boards.
 
What was Said?  "This is 100% a program milestone," said Head Coach Russ Davis on his 700th victory in his 30th season.  "We have had so many dedicated players and coaches over the years.  We all share this together.  Thank you to all those people that have had a hand in this and sacrificed so much time and hard work.  I think that 700 is crazy and I think to do it with less than 200 defeats is even more crazy.  I'm blessed to have such great players and assistant coaches over the years with support from so many administration and staff. Let's go get some more!  God is good."

As for how his charges got the win, "Once we slowed down and executed the game, we had a batter flow.  Our team plays so hard and wants it so bad that sometimes we hurry.  I love how hard they play and how they compete.  We will just continue to get better as we are still figuring things out."
 
What's Next?  The Blue and Gold were going to host Westcliff next Friday, but Westcliff had to forfeit due to not having enough players available.  That delays the next game to a PacWest showdown with Chaminade on December 15 at 5:30 p.m.