Women’s basketball: No home cookin’ for Lions in loss

Tony Altobelli

COSTA MESA - The Vanguard University women’s basketball team left

the court Saturday wondering what hit them.

Especially in the final two seconds.

Apparently it was not visiting Fresno Pacific, who held on for a 62-61

Golden State Athletic Conference win over the unhappy Lions.

Vanguard (14-7, 7-5 in conference) had a chance to win the game in the

final seconds when Becki Huddle drove to the basket for a shot.

Her shot missed, but Debbie Candelaria grabbed hold of the loose ball

and sent up a shot at the buzzer among three Sunbird players, drawing

contact.

No foul was called and the Sunbirds escaped.

“It was a missed call, but what are you going to do?” Vanguard Coach

Russ Davis said. “It’s too bad, because I thought we played pretty hard

out there. I’m at a loss for words.”

Huddle led the Lions with 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists,

while Candelaria added 13 points and eight rebounds.

The Lions had the lead for most of the game, but the Sunbirds (18-7,

9-3) refused to quit. Teresa Kamps led Fresno Pacific with 20 points and

13 rebounds, while Heather Kircher added 19 points, including four

three-pointers.

Vanguard led by as many as 11 in the second half, but the hot shooting

from Kircher and the strong post play from Kamps gave the Sunbirds their

first lead of the game with 4:57 remaining.

On the men’s side, the Lions’ late surge broke open a close game for a

68-58 GSAC triumph over the Sunbirds.

“This team has a lot of heart,” Vanguard Coach Stephen French said.

“We could have quit on ourselves so many times this season with all the

close losses we’ve had, but to our credit, we’ve hung in there.”

Kemmy Burgess led the Lions with 14 points and seven rebounds, while

freshman Gabe Goldman chipped in 12 points, five boards and several

diving efforts on loose balls.

“He’s a warrior for us,” French said. “It’s nice that he’s a freshman

and he’s gaining experience, but he’s out there because he deserves to

be.”

The Lions trailed by one with 10 minutes left in the second half, but

a 10-2 spurt gave the Lions (6-17, 2-10) the lead for good.

Fresno Pacific (6-18, 2-10) tried to stay close, but the Lions held

on.

Ian Boys and Garid Beeler each contributed with 10 points for

Vanguard, while Dennis Keane added eight.

The Sunbirds were sparked in the first half by Uly Sanchez, who scored

14 of his 17 points in the first 20 minutes. Fifteen of Sanchez’s 17

points came from beyond the three-point arc.

The Lions preserved their lead down the stretch by hitting 7 of 9 from

the free-throw line. “We’ve still got a heartbeat here,” French said with

a smile.

The men’s and women’s teams travel to Point Loma Nazarene on Tuesday.

The women play at 5:30 p.m., while the men take the court at 7:30.