Vanguard seeded No. 3

The Vanguard University women’s basketball team (29-2) is the No. 3

seed for the 32-team NAIA Division I tournament, which begins next

week in Jackson, Tenn.

The Lions, who won the regular-season Golden State Athletic

Conference title, as well as the conference tournament, will open

Thursday at 4:15 p.m. PST against St. Xavier from Illinois (26-9).

Vanguard, ranked No. 3 in the latest NAIA poll and an NAIA

tournament semifinalist last season, could play Thursday, Friday and

Saturday, something Lions Coach Russ Davis was hoping to avoid.

Davis, whose roster includes only eight available players, would

have liked to have opened Wednesday, the first day of the tournament,

then received a day off, before continuing, assuming the Lions win

the first two games.

If victorious Thursday, the Lions would face either Xavier of

Louisiana (27-5) or Oklahoma Christian (19-14) in Friday’s second

round, also at 4:15 PST.

The quarterfinals are scheduled March 20.

Oklahoma City (34-1) and Southern Nazarene of Oklahoma (31-3) are

seeded No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

Freed-Hardeman of Tennessee (29-4), the No. 4 seed, opens Thursday

against Biola, which is among five GSAC teams in the tournament.

Vanguard was eliminated by Southern Nazarene, 62-49, in last

season’s semifinals.

-- Barry Faulkner