Faulkner selected Player of the Year

Junior transfer Lisa Faulkner, a point guard for the Vanguard

University women’s basketball team, has been named Golden State

Athletic Conference Player of the Year, headlining a group of three

newcomers for the Lions who earned all-conference honors.

Vanguard’s Russ Davis was named Coach of the Year, as he guided

the Lions to a regular-season record of 26-2, 18-2 in conference and

the GSAC regular-season championship, the team’s second straight.

This is the third time that Davis has been named the GSAC Coach of

the Year.

Freshmen Kelly Schmidt and Rachel Besse were also selected to the

All-GSAC team, which includes 15 players from the 11-team conference.

Faulkner, who transferred from UC Irvine, led the NAIA during the

regular season with 10.3 assists per game. She now holds Vanguard’s

single-season assist record (266), which was also a GSAC record. She

leads the GSC with 86% shooting at the free-throw line.

Schmidt, a 6-foot forward out of Ironwood High in Glendale, Ariz.,

was named GSAC Player of the Week twice during the season and led the

conference in scoring with 573 points, and field goal percentage

(59.2%). She was the second-leading scorer in the NAIA with 20.5

points per game during the regular season. She holds Vanguard’s

single-season scoring mark.

Besse, a 6-3 center who blossomed in the second half of the

season, averaged 11.1 points per game and contributed to the Lions

with rebounding, blocking and defense. Besse, who has started just

two games, averaged 11.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. She also

recorded 40 blocks and 40 steals.

Vanguard, which did not win the GSAC tournament title last year,

is coming off a 74-63 victory over Concordia in the first round of

the GSAC tourney. The Lions will host The Master’s in a semifinal

today at 7:30 p.m. The winner advances to the final Tuesday at 7:30

p.m. If Vanguard wins it will host the game and will take on the

winner between Biola and Point Loma Nazarene.

The Lions have won five GSAC regular-season championships. They

are headed for their sixth trip to the NAIA national tournament. The

NAIA Division I tournament will be held in Jackson, Tenn., March

17-23.

Last year Vanguard advanced to the Final Four for the first time

in school history.