by Las Vegas, Nev. – The #3 Vanguard Lions (6-1, 2-1 GSAC) kicked off the Las Vegas Shootout with a 77-53 victory over the University of Montana-Western. Riley Holsinger (Nez Perce Tribe lit up the scoreboard with 35 points on 66% field goal shooting and 5-7 from behind the arc.
The game started out with a few missed shots from both squads, before Samantha Doucette(JR/Irvine, CA) dropped in a bucket to put the Lions on the board first. On the next possession, Baylie Smith drained a three point basket to give the Bulldogs their lone lead of the night.
Holsinger went on a personal 6-0 run behind two treys from downtown pushing the VU lead to 8-3 with just over 15 minutes remaining in the half.
UMW closed the gap to two points on a Jenna Banks jumper with 11:20 before the intermission. Four minutes later, the Lions had added to their 19-12 advantage with Gionni Blankenship(FR/Paramount, CA) dropping in a jumper.
At the 5:24 mark, Amber Alexander scored the first basket of her career in a Lions uniform.
Vanguard rode a 39-29 margin into the locker room for halftime. Holsinger recorded 20 of her game high 35 points in the first half, on 8-11 shooting. Blankenship added eight points on 3-3 field goal shooting.
Smith led all Bulldog scorers with 10 points and four rebounds.
Vanguard knocked in 60% of their three-point shots compared to only 18% for UMW.
VU slowly pushed their advantage to 15 points over the first few minutes of the final half, capped by five straight points by Holsinger.
University of Montana-Western trimmed the deficit down to 51-45 with just over 10 minutes left in the contest. But less than 90 second later, Vanguard once again was up 13 points.
Alexander dropped in two free throws with 4:04 remaining to give the Lions a 20 point advantage. Hanna Tabron (SO/Gilroy, CA) scored all four of her points over the final two minutes and change to cement Vanguard’s 24 point victory.
In her first game, Alexander recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.Samantha Doucette added in 10 points and three assists (tied for a team high with Jamie Goff).
UMW’s offense was highlighted by Banks 11 points; Smith and Sierra Higheagle both contributed 10 points.
The Lions continue play in the Las Vegas Shootout taking on Carroll College tomorrow, December 19th, with a start time of 3:30 p.m. at Durango High School.
Congratulations to Riley Hollinger and Sierra Higheagle, BOTH young ladies represented the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho in fine fashion!! Goodluck to both in completing their respective college seasons. Very proud of their success in school and in playing basketball. 🙂