For the first time in school history, a team from Vanguard is going to compete at an NCAA Division II National Championship.  VU women's basketball went 2-for-2 at the Pacific West Conference Tournament, ensuring the team's automatic selection to the big dance.  Central Washington, the top-ranked team in the West Region, lost the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title to Montana State University Billings, but did not slip in the regional rankings to land as hosts for the West Regional, which encompasses the first three rounds of the National Tournament.  The winner of this eight-team pod becomes a member of the Elite Eight and heads to Pittsburgh for a shot at the 2025-26 Championship.  But the journey starts with one game, and the Lions need to handle California State University Los Angeles before thinking about what could be, over the weekend or in Pittsburgh. 
   
The Lions enter 24-5 on the season with a winning record across home, road, and neutral (5-1) locations.  The Blue and Gold had winning streaks of seven and 10 games during the campaign and are averaging 72.1 points per game while surrendering 55.7.  VU has a +476 edge in total points on the year over opponents, good for a 16.4 scoring margin.  Vanguard holds 14 marks that are top three in the PacWest, highlighted by a league-leading assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.11), field goal defense (opponents are shooting at a 36.4% clip), scoring margin (first in the West Region), and winning percentage (82.8%).  Of those, VU is eighth in the nation in scoring margin, 21st in assist-to-turnover ratio, and 38th in field goal defense.  Meanwhile, Vanguard settled into second in the PacWest in assists per game (15.6, 27th nationally), field goal percentage (42.5%), free throw percentage (73.8%), rebound margin (+6.1), offensive boards per game (14.2, 38th), points allowed per game (22nd), and turnover margin (+5, 16th). 
 
The Lions are humming defensively, as they just held Westmont to the third-fewest points in WC's season and checked Azusa Pacific to its lowest output offensively in 2025-26.  The Blue and Gold have cracked 70 points in three of the past five games, and three different players have led the squad in points over the past five games, showing the depth the team has across the starters and the bench.
 
The PacWest Player of the Year, Kaylee Byon, has had a career year at VU and enters the NCAA Tournament growing in health after missing the semifinal game in the PacWest Tournament.  She is the mixer of the Vanguard kitchen, leading in the assist categories and ranking third in the nation and second in the region in assist-to-turnover ratio (+2.83).  She is second in assists (164, fifth in the nation) and assists per game (5.9, fifth), while also shooting 44.7% from the field.  She posted 17 games of 10-plus points and two games of 10-plus assists, with her 12 points and 10 helpers at Jessup being her only double-double of the campaign.  Emma Schaaf, who joined Byon on the First Team All-Conference, is fourth in the region in blocks and 23rd nationally with 55.  She landed fifth in blocks per game at 1.90, good for 28th in the nation, and is 14th in the region in points (150th nationally).  With three extra games in the bag, Schaaf has more points and field goals than last year, a better free-throw percentage, more three-pointers made, and more offensive rebounds than in 2024-25.  She had 20 games of 10-plus points and four games with 10 or more rebounds, netting her four double-doubles.  Her 30 points at home against Dominican were a career-best, with her season-high of 16 rebounds in the PacWest title game being her season-high, also equal to her career-best.
 
Third Team All-PacWest selection Micaela Hanning had 10 entries in the top 25 of the region, with her best being her 63 steals, landing 10th in the region.  Her 2.17 steals per game have her in 12th position in the region, and she is 23rd in points scored.  She is sixth in the conference in assist metrics, fifth in minutes per game (32.4), eighth in points, and sixth in steals.  The freshman manned the helm with Byon out last Friday and looked like a seasoned player, tying her season-high of 25 points and grabbing a season-high 11 rebounds for her only double-double of the season involving rebounds.  She had 19 games with 10 or more points and got her other double-double when she posted 14 assists, second-most in a PacWest game all-time and tied for 16th all-time in a single game in VU history.
 
Akilah Kubi is 12th in offensive boards per game at 2.1 in the PacWest and 13th in steals per game at 1.92.  Kubi is having her best year as a Lion, with 3.8 PPG, 4.2 rebounds per game, and a 50.6% shooting rate from the field.  She set a VU-high of nine rebounds in the title game and has three games scoring in double figures.  Jaryn Madsen is fifth in shots attempted from beyond the arc (156) in the PacWest and is having her best rebounding season with 84 entering the dance.  In addition, she owns the most steals of her career with 37.
 
Shayla O'Neil is one steal behind her career-best of 16 and has picked up the most rebounds in her career (86).  This is her second-best season shooting-wise, though her free-throw marks are all career-bests.  She has five games with 10 or more points and season highs of 14 points, seven rebounds, and a trio of shots made from downtown.  Kayla Boozer grew in importance as the season moved along, and the freshman had strong stints in the PacWest Tournament.  She has six games of 10-plus points and one double-double, which was against Hawaii Hilo and involved 14 points and boards.  As the first off the bench to fill in down low, Boozer has shown nice tendencies at both ends and helped VU hold a potential All-Region player, Lisa Keifer of Westmont, to eight points and three rebounds.  Aryanna Hudson has more points than last year by seven entering the weekend, as 2025-26 has been her best performance offensively in her second year at VU.  While she has fewer attempts this season, she is shooting at a better clip across the board and has a career-best 57 assists.  She has five games with 10-plus points, with her season-best of 14 coming at Jessup when she led the Blue and Gold in scoring.  Her five assists against Hawaii Hilo tied her career-high, and Hudson has already played almost 100 more minutes than her freshman season.  Natalie Scherzer inched into 2025-26 after a season-ending injury in 2024-25, but has featured in 10 or more minutes in three of the past five games and had a three against APU in the title match.
 
Vanguard has the team and the coaching staff to advance in the tournament, with Head Coach Russ Davis appearing in his first NCAA Tournament after 25 NAIA showings.  He has a postseason record of 76-42 across his 30 years of coaching, while assistants Sierra Vaglica and Sarah Matossian both had successful careers at VU and NAIA Tournament runs. 
 
But the competition does not get easier, and the Lions have a tested foe in the Golden Eagles of CSULA.  The Golden Eagles are 24-6 and finished third in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, but did not let a lower seeding get in their way.  CSULA won the program's first CCAA Tournament title by besting the top-ranked Mustangs of Cal Poly Pomona 78-62, and the lineup allowed only CPP to top 60 points in the tournament.  This is the fifth NCAA Tournament appearance for Cal State LA, and the team has the most wins in a single season in program history, along with a program-best 15-game winning streak.
 
CSULA has the best assist-to-turnover rank in the region at +1.28 (fifth nationally) and the best PPG as a team at 78.4, good for ninth in the nation.  Additionally, the squad has top-five placements in assists per game (17.6, third, ninth in DII), blocks per game (fifth, 4.1), FG percentage (fifth, 42.6%), defensive rebounds per game (fourth, 28.8, 18th in DII), rebounds per game (fifth, 42.17, 20th in DII), scoring margin (third, +14.9, 18th in DII), turnover margin (second, +5.5, second in DII), and winning percentage (third, 80%).
 
The Golden Eagles have a player in the All-Region mix, as the program's first CCAA Player of the Year winner, Nevaeh Asiasi, led the conference in scoring and is currently second in the region and 15th in Division II.  She is shooting 46.3% from the floor, 33.8% from downtown, averaging 8.7 rebounds per game and 19.3 points per contest.  With only one game under 10 points, the most attempted shots in the region, and the 10th-most in the nation, she was the MVP of the CCAA Tournament and will drive the engine for the Golden Eagles.  While a lot of focus will be on the guard, Sofia Fidelus is another name to note, as she was a First Team All-CCAA selection and made the All-Tournament Team too.  Another guard and a high school teammate of Asiasi, Fidelus is averaging 14.3 PPG, 4.9 rebounds per game, and has 138 assists.  She is shooting 40.1% from the field, 37.1% from beyond the arc, is second in the region in minutes per game behind Asiasi, and is fifth in the region in assists per game (5.1, 16th in DII).  She also has the most shots converted from deep on the squad.
 
Amaya Fuentes and Ariyah Smith were Second Team All-CCAA selections, and Smith tops Fidelus in assists with 144, but is level with Fidelus in the region in assists per game.  Fuentes is averaging 8.6 points per game and 5.2 boards.  Sophomore Mariah Blake is the best forward on the roster and owns a team-best 90 offensive boards, though she averages 8.8 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game.  This could give an edge to the Vanguard forwards, but a lot will come down to the guard play of both sides.
 
A couple of other advantages to take note of as a VU fan are the fouls per game rate of this Golden Eagles side, which is third in the region at 15.1, and the turnovers per game tally (13.8), which is fourth in the region.  Free throws and ball control could be a key emphasis for the Blue and Gold entering Friday.  Lastly, the Golden Eagles are 0-4 in the national tournament. 
 
The two schools have met six times, with Cal State LA holding a 4-2 edge, though the Lions blasted the birds in the last encounter on December 9, 2017, winning 74-39 in a game Coach Vaglica played in.
 
To the victor go the spoils of playing either top-ranked Central Washington or the GNAC Tournament usurpers Montana State Billings.  Both squads cleared 20 wins in the campaign and CWU has the best field percentage in the region (44.8%, 12th nationally).  While MSUB is not on top in any category, they are ranked in the top 20 in every category in the region. 
 
Each side has players in the running for All-Region awards, beginning with GNAC POTY Asher Cai of CWU.  Now enshrined as the all-time leading scorer in GNAC history with over 2,200 points, she is behind Asiasi in field goals made in the region (second, 19th nationally), and has the third-most free throws made in the country with 179.  She tops the region with 662 points scored, which is sixth in the nation, and is second in DII with 22.8 PPG.  She is fourth in the region in triples made and put 27 points down the hoop against VU in Central Washington's 66-58 win in game three of the season for both sides.  CWU is averaging 70.3 PPG and allowing 57.4, and having been denied a GNAC title, is on the hunt for some hardware.  The Wildcats have made the tournament four times in the past five seasons, are making their seventh trip overall after a program-best trip to the Sweet 16 last season.  This is the first time CWU has hosted a women's basketball regional.
 
MSUB has GNAC Tournament MVP and Freshman of the Year Cassie Chesnut as their talisman, and she is seventh in the region in points (466). With 10 double-doubles this campaign, she is tied for third in the region and 36th nationally, in addition to attempting the third-most shots in the region.  She had 21 points to lead all players in the GNAC Tournament finale, was on the Second Team All-GNAC, and was joined by Kaitlin Grossman and Rae Smar on the All-Tournament Team.  MSUB is averaging 68.9 PPG and giving up 61.7, though VU held the squad under 60 in the second game of the year for the Lions, who won 65-54.  No one scored 10 points for the Yellowjackets in that game, but the squad has won six of its past seven and is a far cry from the 4-5 team at the beginning of the year.  The Yellowjackets are making their ninth appearance under coach Kevin Woodin and have two Elite Eight visits in program history. 
 
The bottom half of the bracket will produce a winner between #2 Western Washington (GNAC Regular Season Champions), #7 Point Loma, #3 Cal Poly Pomona (CCAA Regular Season Champions), and #6 APU.
 
The grid is set and is waiting for the lights to go out to begin the race to Pittsburgh for the Elite Eight, and the national title beyond that.  Get out and support your Lions!