AZUSA, Calif. -- Four different Lions combined to drain 9 3-point baskets, including 4-of-8 in the second half to lead the NAIA's No. 4-ranked Vanguard to an 81-53 Golden State Athletic Conference victory over Azusa Pacific, Saturday evening.
The Lions, who are the defending GSAC champion, used a 7-1 run at the start of the second half to open a comfortable 36-25 lead following a Celilia Joseffsson 3-pointer and cruised from there to its third straight victory over Azusa Pacific. The victory keeps Vanguard tied with Westmont for first place in the GSAC.
Freshman center Kelly Schmidt, who leads the GSAC in scoring (21.0 avg.), dropped in a game-high 20 points to go along with 13 rebounds, in leading Vanguard with game highs. Lindsay McClellan added 16 points, thanks in part to a trio of 3-point buckets, and Lacey Mills added 12, all off triples.
The game could have gotten out of hand early. The Cougars failed to score on their first 12 possessions of the game, missing 7 shots and while turning over the ball 5 other times. A short jumper by Lindsey West more than 8 minutes into the game finally put Azusa Pacific on the board. Fortunately for them, as anemic as their offense was, their defense was sharp, forcing Vanguard to miss 9 of its first 11 shots. The end result of the combined misfiring was an 8-0 Vanguard lead with 11:55 left in the half.
Azusa Pacific eventually got back into the game, using an 11-2 run to assume an 11-10 lead following a Monica Sommers jumper. Vanguard, which is currently second in the GSAC in 3-point shooting, drained back-to-back treys by Lisa Faulkner and McClellan to regain control of the game, eventually carving out a 27-18 cushion following a Mills' triple. The Cougars made a mini run to cut the Lion cushion to 29-24 at halftime.
For the game, Azusa Pacific made just 17-of-52 shots (.327) and went through an 8-minute stretch in the second half in which it made just 2 field goals, allowing Vanguard to push a 10-point cushion into an surmountable 18-point lead at 57-39 following another Mills 3-ball.
Azusa Pacific was paced by West's 18 points, 12 of which came in the second half. She and Nicolette Dresback each pulled down a team-high 8 rebounds.
With the victory, Vanguard improves to 14-1 overall, 6-1 in the GSAC. Azusa Pacific falls to 10-6 overall, 3-4 in the GSAC.
