SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Down by 13 heading into the last 10 minutes of action, women's basketball won the final quarter 24-8 to spin the narrative on Westmont and take a crucial 73-70 win at the Murchison Gymnasium on Saturday evening.

The Lions (16-4, 12-3), who trailed by as many as 21, complete the come back to sweep the season series with the Warriors and  claim the last three in the series matchup. Westmont drops its first game since mid-January, as a seven-game win streak is reset to put them at 16-6, and 12-4 in the Pacific West Conference.

Kaylee Byon and Kayla Boozer each had 19 points, with freshman Boozer setting a new career-high to go along with her six rebounds and big-time steal late in the match. Micaela Hanning had an efficient 12-point, five-assist performance, shooting 50% from the field and from three-point land. Akilah Kubi was a lethal swiss-army knife, going for eight points, seven rebounds and four steals.

Emma Schaaf was hindered by foul trouble, locking her into just 18 minutes of gametime. The PacWest Player of the Week, however, drained the biggest shot of the night to put VU up by one with 32 seconds to play.

Westmont enjoyed the services of Jazmyn Shipp, who played in her second game back from injury with a team-high 18 points (7-18 FG), along with eight rebounds and a 2-4 split at the three-point line.

What Happened?
Schaaf had all three of her fouls in the first quarter, which made for an awkward Vanguard quarter as they hit just 33% (4-12) of their field goals and also went 0-4 from downtown. Kubi and Byon picked up the scoring burden, with each scoring four to combine for eight of VU's 11 first-quarter points (14-11 Westmont).

Westmont drew first blood in the second quarter, but Shayla O'Neil launched a post pass into Boozer for the freshman's first bucket of the night, as she converted on the and-one opportunity at the line (16-14 WC). Boozer was unstoppable in the quarter, netting 11 points to keep the Lions in decent shape. She converted on the pick and pop with Hanning, and pushed VU through a 15-12 run for a 29-28 lead with 3:04 left in the half.

The Warriors surged to a 14-4 finish in the period, squeezing out two late Vanguard turnovers to offset Byon's elbow jumper to end the scoring. The Lions paired a 5-5 tally at the line to trail 42-33 at the half.

Westmont were on pace for its third-highest scoring tally in the conference this season and showed no signs of slowing down after the intermission. Their eventual 20-6 win in second-chance points, carried over from the second quarter, as the Lions went scoreless for the first four and a half minutes of the quarter to trail by 20 (53-33 WC).

Boozer was the one who finished off glass to stop the bleeding; she paired up with Hanning on consecutive possessions to continue to shave off the Westmont advantage.
The Warriors had their largest lead of the game when a corner three-pointer went down to make it 58-37 with 4:36 left to go in the quarter.

An O'Neil block a minute later was the catalyst for well-managed final three minutes for the Blue and Gold, who gathered an 8-4 run to trail by 13 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Lions finished the game with the fewest three pointers since their season opener in November, going 4-12 (33%) on the evening. They were just 1-8 entering the final quarter, but did not shy away from testing their three-point talents down by double-figures.

The first trey was down by Hanning, who would score or assist on the first on nine VU points of the frame to make it 63-58 WC with 6:46 to go. Boozer headed to the line to sink free throws seven and eight on the night to keep a five-point outing (65-60 WC).

Westmont did manage to sneak it back up to an eight-point game, but Aryanna Hudson had the keys to the offence in crunch time, pinching a steal to set up Schaaf's deuce and finding Byon for a three-ball to make it 68-65 WC.

The gameplan fell apart from there for Westmont, as the home team never hit a field goal in the final 4:18 of game time. More importantly, the Lions overran them in the paint (10-2) and won 12-0 in points in turnovers, forcing five and committing two.

After a pair of WC's free throws broke a lofty scoring drought, Schaaf had the answer in isolation on the left wing. Westmont turned the ball over, then Schaaf, positioned at the left wing, shot a jab with her off-leg and pulled up for three to plant the Lions ahead 71-70 with 32 seconds left to play. It was their first lead since 3:20 in the second quarter.

The Warriors' attempts to respond out of the timeout were clawed out by a big-time Boozer steal, as Vanguard made it four-straight wins for a huge result in the conference standings.

What's Next? The Lions head to the league leaders, Azusa Pacific, on Thursday, February 12, at 5:30 p.m.