Vanguard’s win is ‘Lion’-hearted

Bryce Alderton

Vanguard University’s top standing in the Golden State Athletic

Conference, and possibly the NAIA Division I ranks, teetered at times

during Saturday’s women’s basketball showdown with The Master’s

College.

But the No. 1-ranked Lions weren’t about to lose their second

straight game for the first time this year.

Senior point guard Lisa Faulkner hit a 13-foot jumper with 14

seconds left and sophomore teammate Rachel Besse shifted laterally to

block Grace Tappe’s shot on the ensuing possession to help the Lions

secure a 64-62 victory, snapping the third-ranked Mustangs’ 10-game

winning streak, in front of a boisterous 678 fans.

With the win, Vanguard (22-3, 13-2 in the GSAC) prevented The

Master’s (18-4, 11-3) from leap-frogging the Lions into the

conference’s top spot with five GSAC games remaining.

The Lions held the Mustangs, whose last defeat came at the hands

of Vanguard, 70-68 Jan. 8, scoreless the final 3 minutes, 15 seconds

while going on a 5-0 run of their own.

Sophomore forward Kelly Schmidt, who played all 40 minutes,

corralled the loose ball after Besse’s block and was fouled with

three seconds remaining.

Schmidt made the first free throw before Mustangs’ Coach Ken

Sugarman called timeout to draw up a play. Schmidt’s second attempt

hit the front of the rim, but she alertly burst in to control the

rebound along the baseline and time expired.

Afterward, Vanguard players and Coach Russ Davis said the victory

was hard-earned.

“[The Master’s] is a great team, they played tough,” said

Faulkner, an All-American who tallied a game-high 16 points, 12 after

halftime, and eight assists in 39 minutes. “We both battled. We just

made shots at the end.”

The Lions called timeout with 24 seconds remaining -- 11 on the

shot clock -- after senior guard Lacey Mills deflected an entry pass

and Lacey Burns gathered the loose ball.

Faulkner, though, said the play wasn’t originally intended for

her.

“We were looking to go back-door, but [the Mustangs] sagged off.

Once it was in my hands I decided to take the shot.”

The Lions trailed, 59-54, with less than five minutes to play and

The Master’s appeared to go ahead by seven, but Courtney Jackson was

called for an offensive foul, nullifying her layup.

Schmidt, who finished with 14 points and a team-high eight

rebounds, converted a putback on a missed three-point try on the

ensuing possession and Faulkner tied the game at 59 with a three the

next time down.

The Mustangs opened the second half with a 9-4 run to forge a

43-35 lead, their largest advantage of the contest, but the Lions

answered with a 10-1 run during the next 3:01 to take a 45-44 lead.

The Master’s outrebounded the Lions, 45-32, including 15 offensive

boards to Vanguard’s 10.

“We had to match their intensity and work hard,” said the 6-foot-3

Besse, who scored 15 points off the bench while grabbing seven

rebounds.

Golden State Athletic Conference

Vanguard 64,

The Master’s 62

TMC -- Jackson 9, Van Doesburg 6, Tappe 14, Mittel 13, Webb 14,

Gimeno 3, Seyler 0, Ekstrand 3, Shugert 0.

3-pt. goals -- Webb 3, Mittel 1, Tappe 2, Gimeno 1.

VU -- Jacobson 4, Schmidt 14, Burns 2, Faulkner 16, Mills 3, Besse

15, Cook 10, Dittenbir 0.

3-pt. goals -- Faulkner 2, Mills 1.

Halftime -- The Master’s, 34-31.