COSTA MESA -- With just under 15 seconds left, Jaryn Madsen got a screen on the baseline, flew to the wing, and converted a Halle Si'i pass into a three that gave Vanguard women's basketball a 56-55 victory over Dominican University of California Thursday night.  The Lions grabbed the Pacific West Conference tilt after trailing for all but two minutes and change in the second half to improve to 17-8 overall and 15-4 in the PacWest, while DUC fell to 19-11, 13-6.
 
Though Madsen had the heroics, Emma Schaaf led all players with a blistering 23 points on 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc.  She also pocketed five offensive and defensive boards for 10 in total.  Madsen went 3-for-4 from deep and nailed the winning shot even though her four personal fouls had caused her to sit for a large portion of the half.
 
What Happened?  Madsen's first three put Vanguard ahead 3-2 after about two minutes of game action.  However, Dominican's high-tempo attack pushed the Penguins to an 8-5 lead.  A layup by Si'i and Schaaf's first trey of the evening leveled things at 8-8 with four minutes left in the first.  Free throws by Schaaf and a downtown make for Aryanna Hudson shunted VU into a 13-10 edge, but DUC would narrowly outscore the Lions the rest of the frame to lead 15-14.
 
There were three ties over the first two and-a-half minutes in the second period but after that, the Penguins pelted the Lions with a 13-7 stretch the rest of the half to take a 33-27 lead into halftime.  VU had a 25.7% shooting rate from the floor after two quarters while Dominican had a 38.7% mark.  The Lions trailed despite Vanguard having a 12-5 edge in offensive boards in the first 20 minutes and a 26-20 lead in total rebounds.
 
The intermission proved valuable for the Blue and Gold, as a plus 16-10 scoring margin in the third period gave the Lions the chance they needed to win in the fourth.  After a DUC layup started the scoring in the new half, a Schaaf three brought VU to within five at 35-30 with 8:28 on the board.  Though the deficit grew to nine points (39-30), Schaaf buried two more shots from three-point land to mince the gap to 39-36 four minutes later.  Buckets in the key from Si'i and Scaaf brought the DUC lead down to 41-40 and an Ashlin Crabtree three-ball with 2:02 left in the frame put VU ahead 43-41.  Schaaf scored 11 of the 16 VU points in the frame and the lineup shot 40% from the field and from deep in the third.  However, Dominican tied the contest at 43-all with 41 ticks left and that was the score entering the fourth.
 
DUC grew its lead back to seven over the first five minutes of the fourth via a 9-4 streak to put some fear back in home fans.  But with under five to go, Crabtree banked in a layup and Schaaf sank another three to put the gap at 52-50.  Si'i danced through the key and made a windmill layup while getting fouled, delivering with a swish on the free throw to knot the ball game at 53-53 with 3:23 to go.  Both sides played stout defense over the next two minutes but DUC put in a layup with 1:22 to take a two point lead.  The Penguins could have sealed the win with 22 seconds to go but the squad missed two free throws, which set the stage for Madsen's moment of glory to hand Vanguard a one-point win.
 
The Blue and Gold shot over 40% in the third and fourth quarters from the floor and from downtown and ended the contest with a 32.3% rate from the field.  The squad netted a 39.3% mark from beyond the arc and went 5-for-9 from the free throw line.  DUC fell from a 42.8% shoot rate from the floor in the first half to a 35% tally for the game.  The Penguins struggled from downtown Thursday night, going 4-for-22, but won the battle in the paint 24-18.
 
Si'i had eight points and a game-high four assists. While Sarah Matossian netted only one field goal, her 13 rebounds easily led all players.   
 
What was Said?  "We were not sharp tonight, but we found a way to win," relayed Head Coach Russ Davis.  "Jaryn hit a huge shot at the end and Emma had a huge second half to keep us in the game.  Give Dominican credit for making us look bad.  They were not backing down, that's for sure.  We stepped up when we had to."
 
What's Next?  Senior day kicks off with a celebration of four VU seniors Saturday at 11:45 a.m. before a noon tip against Menlo concludes the 2024-25 campaign.