Richter’s faith benefits Lions

Jessica Richter featureNewcomer from Syracuse, who leads Vanguard in scoring, transferred before even meeting her new coach.Jessica Richter shows no fear on the court. Quick, strong and skilled, she has already displayed the consistent ability to seize control of a game for the Vanguard University women’s basketball team.

So it is not surprising that the process by which she became a Lion involved not being afraid to make a scary decision.

“It was a little bit scary,” Richter said of her commitment last summer to join the burgeoning NAIA power that earned the No. 1 preseason ranking and has opened 7-0. “I agreed to come here before I had met the coach and before I had even been out to visit [the school].”

Instead, Richter, who averaged 9.6 points, 4.2 rebounds as a freshman last season at Syracuse University, relied on the wisdom of her high school coach at Oregon City High in Oregon and, well, faith.

“It was definitely the Lord’s plan,” said the 5-foot-11 guard/forward, who is averaging 27.6 points per game for the Lions and has already matched the school single-season scoring record with 41 points at San Diego Christian on Nov. 29. “I wasn’t even looking here at all. But my high school coach [Brad Smith] is good friends with [Vanguard] Coach [Russ] Davis. They had talked about me coming here and I valued [Smith’s] opinion, so I agreed to come.”

Richter, who helped Oregon City win two state titles, visited the Costa Mesa campus after making her commitment.

Davis said he made sure to prepare her for the cozy confines of the school’s gymnasium.

“I told them beforehand that it wasn’t exactly the Carrier Dome [the 33,000-seat arena that is the home of the Syracuse men’s basketball team],” Davis recalled. “They walked into our gym and said ‘This is cute.’ ”

Richter said she was undeterred by her quaint new basketball home, where the sideline bleachers have only three rows.

“I knew it would be smaller, but I didn’t think it was going to be this small,” Richter said. “But it’s fine. A court is a court.”

On the court, Richter has big-time game, Davis said.

“She’s the best athlete we’ve had here,” Davis said. “She’s the best three in the NAIA.”

Richter’s statistics make it hard to disagree.

In addition to her scoring average, which ranked second in NAIA Division I last week, she leads the nation with 6.1 steals per game. She is shooting 57.5% from the field, to rank among the top 20 nationally. Richter is also averaging 6.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists, both second on the team. Her 21 three-pointers also lead the Lions.

“She can score so many different ways,” Davis said. “She scores getting to the basket, in transition, off rebounds and from the three-point line.”

Davis said her quickness and strength also make her an impact player on defense.

“She’s so fast, she can get to passes girls don’t think she can get to. And she’s so strong, she can just take the ball from you.”

Richter said the joy of playing was taken from her at Syracuse, which finished 13-16 last year, 4-12 in the Big East Conference.

“It just wasn’t a good fit,” Richter said. “It got to the point where I didn’t really want to be in the gym. I knew I needed a change.”

Richter said she has found what she wanted at Vanguard, which has reached the NAIA quarterfinals the last three seasons, including a semifinal appearance in 2003.

“I wanted to play right away [she would have been required to sit out a year had she transferred to another NCAA Division I school] and being able to join a winning program also was a factor,” Richter said. “I knew this was a winning program and the talent was good. I enjoy working with my team and Coach Davis and being in a winning program again. Just being around people who work so hard and care about basketball, is fun.”

And, Davis believes, there is much more to come.