ATHERTON, Calif. – Women's basketball scored just 12 points in the second half to drop a 57-54 result to Menlo Saturday afternoon at Haynes-Prim Pavilion. It was their lowest second-half scoring haul of the campaign, and a slight stutter for their first and only loss in the calendar month.
The 2025-26 Pacific West Conference Champions will end their 10-game win streak, closing the regular season at 22-5 and 18-4 in the league. Menlo finishes the year 13-14 and .500 in the PacWest at 11-11. It was Menlo's first win over Vanguard in four tries, since they shredded the Lions 54-20 in the second half, in what was another MC comeback in January 2024.
The simplest way to break down the tale of two halves was the lopsided spread of rebounding and three-point shooting. Vanguard dominated the glass in the first half, 22-12 in total rebounds, with a 9-1 split in offensive boards. Menlo made up the deficit in the second half with a 21-11 haul over the Lions and a 9-4 trade in offensive rebounds. The Lions' shooting could not make up for the transition of power in the paint for the final 20 minutes, as they hit a stale 2-15 from three to MC's 5-10 in the second half.
The Oaks also won points off turnovers 18-0 in the second half.
What Happened?
Kaylee Byon stuck the landing on the first jump shot of the day, followed by an
Emma Schaaf tip-in after a second look off the heel. The Lions kept Menlo empty for two and a half minutes before the Oaks hit their only three-pointer of the quarter, a left-wing effort, making it 6-3 VU.
Byon had all seven of her first quarter points inside three and a half minutes, after Schaaf's block and defensive stop, providing the opening the other way for a Byon right corner three (11-8). The senior's triple opened up Pandora's box for VU downtown, as the Lions hit three of their next five three-point efforts to end the period. Schaaf's pick and pop three made it a 17-point lead (20-3 VU) while
Jaryn Madsen had the last Lion basket of the quarter for a 26-11 score.
Despite a tighter scoring balance between both teams in the period (16-10), Vanguard had its best shooting quarter in the second frame, going 6-12 (50%) and 3-6 from deep. Menlo had its worst, at 23% (3-13).
Shayla O'Neil was the most active Lion; she came off the bench to score or assist on 13 of VU's 16 points, setting up
Micaela Hanning for the first Vanguard make of the period, off a right corner three. Then she made mincemeat of the Oaks down low, piling in a tip-in and a silky finish at the low block. Out of the next media timeout, Vanguard was up 33-16 with 4:10 remaining. Menlo made it closer with a 9-5 Vanguard finish in the half, as Madsen hit another three and O'Neil scored from the top of the key with four seconds left to conclude a 42-21 first half.
The Blue and Gold's 21-point halftime lead evaporated as they were outscored 36-12 in the second half. They made just five goals out of their 24 attempts (21%) and could not cash in on any freebies at the line with 0 attempts in the entire interval.
The Oaks won the third quarter 21-7, shooting 52% (9-17) and earning 12 of their points off Lion giveaways. VU did not hit a field goal until the 5:38 mark of the period, with a baseline jumper planted down by Schaaf to interrupt a 10-0 start by the Oaks (42-31 VU). Hanning canned a trey from the corner, while Schaaf's layup to make it 49-38 was her last point of the game. The Lions were outscored 4-0 in the last two minutes of the quarter for a seven-point game heading into the fourth (49-42).
Back-to-back Menlo threes made it a one-point game (49-48 VU) with 8:07 on the board. Byon responded with a jumper, but it was the only Vanguard field goal for the next six minutes, as the transfer guard would score all five of VU's points in the fourth. Menlo had its first lead of the game off a 9-0 run, climbing up to a six-point lead with Vanguard in the mud offensively. Byon hit a three with 42 seconds left, but it was far too little to make up for the nightmare finish in Atherton.
Schaaf had her 12th career double-double with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocks. Hanning hit a game-best 3-7 from deep to net 13 points. Byon had 12 points, five boards, and four dimes. The league's leading scorer, MC's Alberte Frisch, tagged a game-high with 18 points on 8-14 from the field.
What's Next? The PacWest champions, VU, will have a bye for the first round of the PacWest Tournament, awaiting the winner of #4 seeded Westmont and #5 Dominican in next Thursday's opening round. The Blue and Gold make their tournament debut on Friday, March 6, at 7:15 p.m. inside the Golden Gymnasium on the campus of Point Loma.
