Conference tourney time’s here for Vanguard

The Vanguard University women’s basketball team, which won its fourth straight Golden State Athletic Conference regular-season title, will try to claim its third straight conference tournament crown when the eight-team event tips off tonight at 7:30.

The Lions (29-0), ranked No. 1 in NAIA Division I, play host to Cal Baptist (14-16) in tonight’s quarterfinal round.

Vanguard ? which has already qualified for the NAIA Tournament, March 15-21 in Jackson, Tenn. ? crushed Cal Baptist, 110-65, in their last meeting Feb. 21 at Vanguard. Vanguard defeated Cal Baptist, 79-55, on Jan. 19 in Riverside.

The Vanguard men’s basketball team (19-11) plays host to Westmont (17-13) in the GSAC men’s tournament quarterfinals Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Coach Bob Wilson’s Lions finished third in the regular season, their highest conference finish in nine seasons. They did not qualify for the eight-team conference tournament last season and have never won the tournament.

The Vanguard men swept Westmont in their two regular-season meetings. The Lions won, 80-57, at home on Jan. 10 and earned a 79-74 road win Feb. 14.

The Vanguard women dominated conference opponents and have won 29 straight against GSAC foes, including a 72-55 triumph over Point Loma Nazarene in last year’s GSAC Tournament final. The Lions’ last loss to a conference opponent was Feb. 8, 2005, a 69-64 setback at Point Loma Nazarene.

Coach Russ Davis’ Vanguard women are led by junior All-American Kelly Schmidt, sophomore Syracuse transfer Jessica Richter, junior center Rachel Besse and sophomore BYU transfer Tiari Goold.

Richter is averaging 21.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.1 steals. She ranks fourth in NAIA Division I in scoring and steals and is shooting 53.2% from the field.

Schmidt is averaging 20.4 points, fifth in the nation, 7.7 rebounds, and is shooting 58.6% from the field.

Besse, a 6-foot-3 center, is averaging 13.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and is shooting a division-leading 62.6% from the field.

Goold leads the division in assists per game (9.0).

The Cal Baptist women are led by freshman Nicole Davis, who is averaging 15.3 points and 5.8 assists per game.

No. 11-ranked The Master’s (22-7), No. 14 Azusa Pacific (22-8) and No. 16 Point Loma Nazarene (20-8), all of which tied for second in the women’s regular-season, are the Nos. 2-4 seeds, respectively.

The women’s semifinals, pitting the highest remaining seeds against the two lowest remaining seeds, are Friday at 7:30 p.m. The teams with the highest seeding will host those games, as well as the final, set for Monday at 7:30 p.m.

The No. 8-ranked Azusa Pacific (25-5), the regular-season conference champion, is the top seed in the men’s tournament. Should the top four seeds win Thursday, Vanguard would meet second-seeded San Diego Christian (20-8 and ranked No. 13) in Saturday night’s semifinal round, which features two games at Hope International (5:30 and 7:30). The title game is scheduled for Tuesday at Hope International at 7:30 p.m.

The Vanguard men are led by seniors Levi Seekins and Horace Wormely. Seekins is averaging 16.3 points and 6.4 rebounds, while Wormely is contributing 14.9 points and a conference-leading 7.2 assists per contest.

The Westmont men’s team is led by all-conference forward Santiago Aguirre (15.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg).dpt.01-vanguard-CPhotoInfo6L1OFMKV20060301isjtgencDON LEACH / DAILY PILOT(LA)Kelly Schmidt was an All-American last season for Vanguard University.