Lions’ win streak expires

COSTA MESA ? Coach Russ Davis said he has insisted all year that his nationally top-ranked Vanguard women’s basketball team’s undefeated season has come with a warning label.

Friday night, in the semifinals of the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament, The Master’s College issued the Lions an expiration date.

The No. 12-ranked Mustangs (24-7), led for all but 39 seconds to secure a 78-72 upset that ended a 28-game Vanguard winning streak.

The loss also denies the Lions a third straight GSAC Tournament crown. But it may rekindle the intensity that Davis said has largely been missing since the regular season ended.

“We won 28 in a row, now we just have to win five in a row,” said Davis, referring to the NAIA Tournament ? March 15-21 in Jackson, Tenn. ? in which the Lions were already assured their fifth straight appearance.

Five wins to close out the season would bring Vanguard its first national championship. But for that to occur, Davis said his team must respond to his demand for unrelenting effort and focus.

“I’ve been trying to warn them for a long time about playing with intensity for 40 minutes and I thought we only played for about 9 or 10 minutes tonight,” Davis said. “The warning expired.

“It’s just disappointing because we’ve been talking about it and they haven’t listened. If they still won’t listen, then we’re going to lose again. If they listen, we won’t [lose again]. I’m not a doctor and it’s not brain surgery. It’s basketball and we’ve just got to do the things that made us successful.”

The Lions, who struggled to claim a 67-55 first-round win over Cal Baptist on Monday ? a game Davis called the team’s worst of the season, had little success early against the Mustangs.

On its first 31 possessions, Vanguard had 14 turnovers and nine missed shots, to go with just four field goals. The Lions did get six free throws in that span, but their only leads were 3-2 and 6-4.

The Master’s played intense, physical defense that, while successful, created foul trouble that nearly proved costly.

The Mustangs’ two post players, Courtney Jackson and Kelsey Shugert, both picked up their fourth fouls within 35 seconds, the latter with 13:49 left in the game.

Jackson was the first of two Mustang starters to foul out with 12:56 left, as Vanguard, spurred by a raucous home crowd, continued to chip away at the lead.

But The Master’s, which battled the Lions before falling, 50-46, at home on Feb. 11 ? the closest margin of victory and only one of two Vanguard wins by fewer than 10 points this season, kept the Lions in a hole.

“I think the key was perseverance,” The Master’s Coach Ken Sugarman said. “We had terrible foul trouble, but the kids stuck with it.”

The Lions also clung stubbornly to their comeback dreams. They scored eight straight points to close to within 63-61 with 4:30 remaining.

But then Mustang senior Grace Tappe, who had just two points and missed her first five second-half field-goal attempts, took over.

Tappe converted a baseline drive into a three-point play with 4:16 left. Then, after a Vanguard layup, Tappe drained a 12-foot baseline jumper while being fouled. She added the free throw to make it 69-63.

Jessica Richter’s layup and a three-pointer by Tiari Goold pared the lead to one with 2:26 left and Vanguard had two subsequent possessions with a chance to take the lead.

But the Mustangs’ Kinsley Mittel netted a three-pointer from the corner with 31 seconds left and Tappe went 6 of 6 from the foul line in the final 19 seconds to clinch the win.

“My hats off to [the Mustangs],” Davis said. “They played great. They came after us and they beat us. No excuses.”

Vanguard committed 13 of its 21 turnovers in the opening half and finished with a 32-31 rebounding disadvantage.

Rachel Besse had 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Richter made five three-pointers to produce a game-high 18 points.

Kelly Schmidt, the two-time conference Player of the Year, had 16 points, four turnovers and four rebounds.

“This was pretty fun,” Sugarman said. “But I think Vanguard is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the [NAIA] tournament.”