Vanguard holds off Westmont

COSTA MESA -- Top-seeded Vanguard University held off fourth-seeded

Westmont, 70-67, in the semifinals of the Golden State Athletic

Conference women’s basketball tournament Saturday at the Pit.

Vanguard, ranked No. 9 in the NAIA, advances to the tournament

title game Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. against No. 19-ranked The Master’s

College.

Vanguard sprinted to a 27-12 lead with just less than nine minutes

left in the first half, capped by a Ribbin Dittenbir jump shot that

gave the hosts their biggest lead of the game.

The Warriors closed the half with a 17-8 burst to cut the deficit

to 35-29 at intermission. Meredith Shanklin provided 13 first-half

points for the Warriors and Dittenbir had the hot hand for the Lions.

Dittenber hit 7 of 9 field-goal attempts in the first 20 minutes,

to help the senior All-GSAC guard produce 17 of her career-high 23

points.

Westmont, needing a win to keep its national tournament hopes

alive, found itself with a double-digit deficit again, after Vangaurd

stretched the lead to 48-35. Jessica Lenderman drained a

three-pointer with 13:01 left in the game to help the Lions

reestablish control.

Westmont refused to give in, however, as Shanklin drilled a

three-pointer to cap a 7-1 run to close the gap to 49-44.

Vanguard answered back with a 15-8 run of its own to push the lead

back to 12 with 4:04 left in the contest. All-GSAC guard Jennifer

Wilcox capped the Vanguard offensive charge with her second

three-pointer of the game.

Meghan O’Donogue capped Westmont’s final rally by netting a

three-pointer to bring the Warriors within two with four seconds

left.

But Vanguard’s Paulette Seaman sank a free throw two seconds later

to seal the victory and end Westmont’s season.

Wilcox finished with 14 points and added a team-high 10 rebounds.

She made 7 of 9 free throws to help the Lions convert 16 of 21 foul

shots (76.2%).

Dittenbir, who was 10 of 17 from the field (58.8%), added five

assists for the winners. She also joined teammates Lacey Mills and

Laura Lee with a pair of three-pointers, while Lions Wilcox and

Lenderman also connected from beyond the arc.

Shanklin led the Warriors, who fell to 19-14, with 21 points.

Vanguard improved to 25-8.

Westmont made half of its 50 field-goal attempts, and Vanguard

finished 23 of 65 from the field (36.5%). Westmont also netted 14 of

18 free throws (77.8%).

Mills had 10 points for the Lions.