FRESNO, Calif. – The 2026 Pacific West Conference title resides with Vanguard women's basketball, as the Lions took down Fresno Pacific 79-61 to win their first-ever PacWest title and 14th league title overall. The PacWest Team of the Week claim the title with one regular season game still in hand, sporting a 22-4 record and 18-3 in the league. Seeding amongst the top six in the standings still shifts, as the now one-seeded Lions will have to wait until Saturday evening to see who they'll face in the second round of the PacWest tournament.

VU has now won 10 games in a row, tying the best win streak since February 2023. Fresno Pacific drops to 9-17, 6-15 with the Lions avenging last year's defeat at the Special Events Center, which contributed to their 2025 second-place finish.

Emma Schaaf's 25-point outburst in 27 minutes led all scorers. She nailed two of her three treys and also scooped up nine rebounds. Kaylee Byon came up with 16 points, seven rebounds, and six assists to fill out the stat sheet. Her backcourt partner in Micaela Hanning had nine points, three rebounds, and two steals. Kayla Boozer led the bench scoring effort with eight points and nine rebounds, and Aryanna Hudson cashed in seven points in the title-winning result.

Vanguard shot 41% (27-66) for the game, 36% (8-22) from three, and 17-21 (81%) at the line. Fresno Pacific was neck and neck in overall field goal percentage (40%, 19-47), but they took more than half of their shots from three (11-26) as they meddled through high and low spells of scoring. Though FPU cleaned up the turnover problems in the second half, VU still led in the category comfortably (8-11) and scored 22 points to FPU's nine, in points off giveaways.

What Happened?
The Lions had a smooth first quarter, hitting 47% (8-17) of their shots, going two for three from downtown and starting a perfect (5-5) from the line. Byon's mid-range jumper opened the scoring, while the Sunbirds sank a three-pointer to get on the board for their senior night. Byon made it four straight points, with a pair of free throws, and the first of Schaaf's 16-first half points came through an and-one finish through contact, pulling the Lions back up 7-6.

The Sunbirds notched a layup through the lane to go back in front, but could not replicate their early 2-4 shooting stroke from deep. They missed their final three treys and gave up six turnovers for a 7-2 VU spread in points off turnovers. The Lions pinned down back-to-back three-point makes between Byon and Schaaf, leaping to a 15-8 lead with 3:58 left. FPU only netted two more field goals for the quarter, with a solo steal and a break away basket for Hanning highlighting a 23-12 Lion lead to end the period.

Fresno Pacific regained their footing from three (4-8 3PT) in the second quarter. They would go on to hit 11-26 from three across the match, a season-best mark in three-point field goals made.

FPU started the scoring with two three-pointers, and Boozer broke through for Vanguard with a finish in transition (25-18 VU). The Lions took a game-high 10 free throws in the quarter (8-10) and clipped eight of their next 10 points from the charity stripe. A near four-minute Lion field goal drought was ended by Shayla O'Neil, who combined with Byon to make it a 12-point lead with 2:26 on the clock.

The Sunbirds continued to suffer in the turnover category, with VU committing just one to FPU's five in the quarter. VU led 8-0 in points of those miscues, which included a three-pointer from Jaryn Madsen, as the Lions made a pair of threes to end the half (45-30 VU).

The Blue and Gold won a generally closer second half 34-31, but were never truly bothered as they led by double-figures through the last 20 minutes. They made four threes in the third quarter, one of which came during a five-point scoring run from Schaaf (51-34).

After a minute and a half scoring slump for both teams, the pair triggered four treys between them. Each side hit two, with Madsen and Byon calibrating for the Lions, and Hanning having the final say at the shooting range for a 21-point lead (63-42) to cap the quarter.

The Lions narrowly lost the fourth quarter 19-16, giving up half (4) of their total turnovers (8) in the game throughout the last 10 minutes. Their largest lead of the game was acquired by Boozer's layup with 8:54 left to go, as the Blue and Gold bolted out to a 25-point advantage. Boozer went on to have a team-high six fourth-quarter points, but was aided by Natalie Scherzer, Schaaf, O'Neil, and Hanning as the team effort took the title in a memorable night in the valley.

What Was Said? "Extremely proud of our team to win the school's first ever PacWest championship," said Head Coach Russ Davis. "We faced so much adversity and we never let it bother us. The togetherness this group has and love for each other is impressive. The lord had and always has our back through it all. We still have work to do in post season, but I'm excited for the team to make history tonight. Facing so many tough opponents after losing two starters and winning 10 games in a row to win the championship. WOW! My staff has been great and worked really hard for this. Still have games to play. Go Lions!"

What's Next? The Lions will close the regular season at Menlo on Saturday, February 28, at 12 p.m.