LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The Vanguard women's basketball program earned its first major end-of-season award today in the Pacific West Conference as
Emma Schaaf was named the Freshman of the Year.
Sarah Matossian was the first VU name on the All-Conference lineup as she was named to the First Team,
Halle Si'i was placed on the Second Team, and Schaaf landed on the Third Team.
Schaaf was one of the few freshmen in the PacWest to heavily feature during the schedule and the newcomer to VU started all 26 games for the Lions in 2024-25. She averaged 11.2 points per game while shooting 44.5% from the floor. Schaaf was not afraid of a shot from beyond the arc, as she splashed down for a three on 32.6% of her attempts from deep. She ended second on the team with 224 rebounds and paced the Blue and Gold with 156 boards on the defensive end. She averaged 8.6 rebounds per game and made 58 blocks in her debut campaign, tied for 17th nationally. Her best scoring game was at home against Dominican on February 27, when she made five triples to net 23 points. She had 16 rebounds at home against CUI on January 29 as her high-water mark for the season and she had five blocks at home against APU on February 8. The freshman had eight double-doubles during her first year at VU. In PacWest play, Schaaf tallied 242 points to end second on the Lions and she shot 44.4% from the floor in 20 conference matchups. Schaaf registered 9.4 rebounds per game in league play and 47 blocks.
In the conference rankings, Schaaf was 17th in PPG and total points while playing the 18th-most minutes in the league. Her field goal percentage was seventh in the PacWest, she ended fifth in rebounds per game, and was fourth among all players in defensive rebounds. She had a huge season in the block department and came up just three blocks shy of Megan Jones (Hawaii Pacific) for the league lead, as Schaaf ended second in total blocks and in blocks per game (2.2). Her memorable night against Dominican left her tied for first in the PacWest with five three-pointers made in one game. Her 16 rebounds against PLNU and CUI at home were tied for the seventh-most in a single game in the PacWest and her five blocks at home against APU were tied for third in the league.
Matossian will leave Vanguard with the 11th-most rebounds all-time with 618 and finished the 2024-25 season with a career-high 249 rebounds and 338 points. She averaged just shy of a double-double this season, notching 13 PPG and 9.6 rebounds per game. She had career performances in the season series against CUI, pelting the Golden Eagles for 34 points on the road, tied for 18th most in a single game all-time at VU and the most in a game this year in the conference. At home, she hauled in 21 rebounds, tied for third most in a single game at VU and tied for third in a game this season in the PacWest. Matossian started in all 26 games for the Blue and Gold and averaged 36.5 minutes per game. She shot 46.5% from the floor and 40.2% from three-point range. She had 10 blocks, tying her career high, 44 steals, 72 assists, and nine double-doubles during the campaign
Matossian paced VU in points scored across the season and hung a team-high 259 during PacWest play. Overall, Matossian was top of the team in field goal percentage, total rebounds, offensive boards (99), steals, and second in blocks and three-point percentage. In the league, Matossian finished 11th in points per game and 12th in total points. She ended third in rebounds per game, third in offensive boards, and fourth in total rebounds. Her lethality extended outside the key, as she landed third in field goal percentage, fourth in three-point percentage, eighth in threes made per game (1.6), fifth in assists and assists per game, and 11th in steals. In addition to her success against CUI, her 28 points against Biola were tied for sixth-most in a single game in the PacWest and her five treys made against Westmont at home were tied for the most by any player in the league.
She graduates as a 41.8% shooter from the field, a 35.1% shooter rom downtown, 7.5 rebounds per game, and 9.3 points per game.
Si'i has been given a post season award every year of her career so far and is now a back-to-back all-conference player, though she did that across two leagues. She was the 2022-23 Golden State Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year before netting her first all-conference nod in the GSAC in 2023-24. Now, she adds her name to the PacWest ledger for awards after being named to the Second Team All-PacWest. Finishing second in scoring on VU, she deposited 319 points this past season while shooting 34.5% from the floor. The junior led Vanguard with 109 assists and her 43 steals were one behind Matossian. She was third on the squad with 128 rebounds and had 227 points and 96 rebounds during the conference portion of the schedule, both third on VU.
Starting in all 26 games, Si'i had a season-high 23 points at Westmont on February 19 and garnered a career-best 10-for-14 line from the charity stripe at home against Cal State San Marcos. She had 10 or more points in 16 games this campaign and ended 13th in the PacWest in scoring average and 15th in total points. She was third in assists per game (4.2) and total assists in the conference and harvested a +1.3 assist to turnover ratio. She was 12th in steals in the conference and was 18th in free throw percentage (69.5%). Her 20 field goal attempts against Westmont at home were tied for 10th-most in a single game this season in the PacWest and she now has over 1,000 points at VU.
