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.
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