Women’s basketball: Lions fall in GSAC tourney finals
Tony Altobelli
WHITTIER - In a game that really lacked as much importance as it
deserved, the Vanguard University women’s basketball team lost to Azusa
Pacific, 77-71, in the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament
Finals.
With both teams already advancing to the NAIA National Tournament,
scheduled for Tulsa, Oklahoma March 14-20, conference bragging rights was
the only thing hanging on Tuesday’s outcome.
“It was just one of those nights,” Lions’ Coach Russ Davis said. “We
didn’t get any calls to go our way, we didn’t play that well on defense
and we didn’t execute our offense very well. We’re going to have to pick
up our game in a lot of areas heading into the NAIA Tournament.”
Kelly Boeke led the Lions (28-6) with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while
Laura Lee added 18 points on six three-pointers.
“Boeke pretty much owned us in the first half,” Cougars’ Coach Danielle
Jorgenson said. “We came in determined not to lose on their three-point
shooting.”
The Cougars (26-6) shot over 50% (28 of 55) from the field, while the
Lions, ranked No. 10 in the nation by the NAIA, were held to 35% (24 of
69).
“Maybe this is the type of game that will get the team’s attention,”
Davis said. “We’ve won eight in a row going into this game. Hopefully
this will grab everyone’s attention and they’ll all step up their games.”
The Cougars outscored the Lions, 35-4, off the bench, led by Jennifer
Barbone’s 15 points and Allison Box’s 14 points.
Azusa, ranked No. 21, led by as many as eight in the first half, but a
late 9-0 run by the Lions helped tie the game at 34-34 at halftime. Boeke
had 16 first-half points, but picked up her third foul before halftime.
“Our early foul trouble really hurt us,” Davis said. “We tried to
overcome it by playing some zone defense, but that didn’t work at all.”
Vanguard led by two before an 8-0 run gave the Cougars momentum.
Lee hit three early three-pointers in the second half to keep the
cold-shooting Lions in the game.
“She’s well over 100 three-pointers for us this year,” Davis said. “She
was really shooting the ball well for us tonight.”
With the Cougars up, 60-59, with 8:08 remaining, the Lions’ defense broke
down, allowing Azusa Pacific to go on a 9-0 run in a three-minute span.
“I’ve been talking to Russ about three times a week lately and he told us
that we might have had the better team, but they were rattling our
heads,” Jorgenson said. “Tonight, we just came out loose and they weren’t
gonna lose to them again.”
The Lions had won both meetings from the Cougars this season and had won
four out of the last five meetings.
A late Lions’ charge, led by Boeke and Becki Huddle (11 points, six
rebounds, six assists) cut the lead to four with 3:12 remaining, but they
would not get any closer.
Catherine Solorio’s jumper with 1:13 left extended the lead to 73-67 and
erased all hopes of a Lions’ comeback.
GOLDEN STATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Championship finals
Azusa Pacific 77, Vanguard 71
Azusa Pacific - Barbone 15, Box 14, Centivre 13, Solorio 11, Lemm 9,
Herman 7, Guerrero 6, Clark 2.
3 pt. goals - None.
Fouled out - None.
Vanguard - Boeke 23, Lee 18, Huddle 11, Fikse 10, Emde 5, Weidler 2,
McKinney 2.
3 pt. goals - Lee 6, Fikse 1, Emde 1, Huddle 1.
Fouled out - Emde.
Haftime - Tied, 34-34.
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