Lions get back on track

COSTA MESA — It wasn’t too long ago the Vanguard women’s basketball team played at the Hartford Civic Center against national powerhouse UCONN.

The Lions ended their exhibition preseason in front of over 7,300 people Nov. 9. They played hard and at times hung with the dominant Huskies. They lost, but they left with the belief that they can beat anyone in the NAIA.

This past weekend, it appeared their confidence was shaken. But they got back to playing the Vanguard way, reeling off a 95-44 Golden State Athletic Conference win over Concordia Tuesday night at the Pit.

Bridgette Reyes, who scored 15 points against the Eagles, remembers that game against UCONN well. The Huskies, which is ranked No. 1 in the NCAA and is on a 57-game winning streak, won, 98-68. But Vanguard takes pride knowing that it is one of the few teams that have lost to UCONN by no more than 30 points.

“We actually played really well against them,” Reyes said. “If you look at the scores and how much they are beating everyone by, we played really good. If we can play with UCONN we should be able to play with anyone. But we have to come out with the same intensity and we should be fine.”

The Lions (10-2, 6-2 in conference), ranked No. 5 in the NAIA, didn’t come out with so much intensity on the defensive end Saturday at Azusa Pacific. The Cougars pulled off the upset, dealing a rare GSAC loss to Vanguard, 101-92.

Reyes said there was a great sense of anger after the setback. The Lions spent much of their time watching film of the loss and tried to learn from their mistakes.

Early on against Concordia, it seemed as if the miscues came back to haunt them. A loss against the Eagles was never expected, but then again Vanguard had to go to overtime to beat Hope International, 91-86, Jan. 5.

Concordia presented a challenge in the first five minutes, building an 11-5 lead. But the Lions used a strong defense and solid outside shooting to take over the game. The Eagles (9-7, 2-6), who have not beaten Vanguard since the 2003-04 season, managed to score just nine points for the remainder of the first half. The Lions led, 36-20, at halftime.

“I told them that the game on Saturday wasn’t a loss. It was a learning experience,” Vanguard Coach Russ Davis said. “It’s not a loss. We’re going to learn from that. If you keep thinking it’s a loss, loss, loss, then you start thinking losing, losing, losing. I think that was a big key.”

Davis came away impressed with the Lions because they shot 39% from the field, but still scored 95 points. Vanguard hit 14 three-pointers to help its cause. The Lions were also in the 39% range with their three-pointers, as they had 36 attempts.

Rachel Copeland, who scored 21 points, led with five three-pointers in 13 attempts. Diana Neves, who had a game-high 22 points, was four of 11 from three-point range and Jaclyn Blied, who had 11 points, knocked down three of her seven three-pointers.

Sarah Boyd was also in double figures, scoring 15 points.

But it was the Lions defense that stood out. They caused 30 turnovers and converted 44 points off the Eagles’ mistakes. In the second half, Concordia was hoping for a strong start again, but Vanguard’s defense proved to be too dominant.

For 10 minutes, 17 seconds during the second half, the Eagles went without a field goal. Kayanna Nichols nailed a three-pointer to end the slump, but the Lions still led, 74-37.

“We just got back to playing Vanguard basketball tonight,” Davis said.

Golden State Athletic Conference

Vanguard 95, Concordia 44

CU – Wallace 2, Hunter 3, Nichols 15, Howard 6, Priest 3, Carney 2, Spence 2, Fu 1, Lindley 4, Sahli 3, McDaniel 1, Henry 1.

3-pt. goals – Nichols 3, Howard 2, Priest 1, Hunter 1.

VU – Blied 11, Boyd 15, Copeland 21, Reyes 15, Neves 22, Burns 2, Halberg 4, DeJongh 5.

3-pt. goals – Copeland 5, Neves 4, Blied 3, Reyes 1, Boyd 1.

Halftime – VU, 36-20.