Lions advance to NAIA quarterfinal

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Vanguard 85, Williams Woods 60

FRANKFORT, Ky — Junior guard Nicole Ballestero scored 25 points and three other Lions scored in double figures in the second-round game of the NAIA Championships on Friday at the Frankfort Convention Center.

The win sets up a quarterfinal clash with top-seeded Freed-Hardeman of Tennessee (33-1) on Saturday at 3 p.m. PST. Freed-Hardeman defeated Campbellsville of Kentucky, 71-52, on Friday.

Vanguard (25-3) shot 51.6% from the field (32 for 62) and 52.2% from three-point range (12 for 23) to run away from the Missouri-based school (26-7).

Senior guard Chelsea Alfafara made six of nine three-point attempts on her way to 17 points, while senior post Esther Timmermans had 16 points on seven-of-11 shooting from the field.

Senior Alison Drennan continued her strong tournament with 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while senior Maree Drennan had a team-best nine rebounds to go with her four points.

Vanguard led, 44-29, at halftime and wound up with just 10 of the game’s 26 turnovers.

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BASEBALL

UC Irvine 2, Nebraska 1

IRVINE — Two first-inning runs and a stellar pitching performance by Andrew Thurman led the No. 25 Anteaters (14-4) to a victory against Nebraska (5-10) on Friday at Anteater Ballpark.

Thurman improved to 2-2 on the season by striking out a career-high 11 batters in the complete-game victory.