by Santa Clara, Calif. – Coming in riding a five game winning streak, the #3 ranked Lions (5-1, 2-1) stumbled in their third GAC game losing to #20 The Master’s College (8-3, 2-1) by a score of 71-64. Riley Holsinger (Nez Perce Tribe) netted 26 points in the loss, and Samantha Doucette (JR/Irvine, CA) contributed 20 points.
In the first couple of minutes, both teams exchanged a few baskets forcing a 4-4 tie with close to four minute elapsed in the opening period. From the 15:54 mark, Holsinger scored seven straight points over the course of one minute. Vanguard held an 11-4 advantage with 14:58 remaining.
The Mustangs would trim the VU lead to 13-11 on a Megan Lindsley layup with 12:18 left in the half. Doucette dropped in a layup before Holsinger hit back to back shots to once again put Vanguard up by seven.
As the midway point of the first period passed, The Lions held a 20-14 advantage. A three-pointer by Shannon Kingery cut the lead to 20-17. Once again, VU pushed the margin back up to seven with a jumper by Doucette and two free throws by Nicole Zugasti (SR/Glendora, CA).
Vanguard held a game high 11 point lead after two makes from the charity stripe by Holsinger. The Master’s College cut the deficit to only two points over the final 5:46 of the first period. At halftime, the Lions led 35-33.
VU held a six point advantage in points off turnovers, while TMC had four more second chance points and seven additional points scored by bench players.
The game was the tale of two halves. After never trailing in the first period, Vanguard scored only two points in the first five minutes as the Mustangs went on a 13-2 run.
Once the Lions lost the lead, they would not regain it for the rest of the contest.
With 12:50 remaining in the game, Maya Kennedy (SO/Huntington Beach, CA) trimmed it to a 46-45 margin. They would again cut it to a two point deficit at the 12:13 and 8:00 minute marks, but could not claw their way past that point.
The Mustangs built their game-high lead to 59-52 with 6:01 remaining. VU would not concede as they once again dropped the margin to two points with just over four minutes left in the conference matchup.
The Master’s College responded by going on a 10-5 run over the final minutes to ice the victory.
Both schools sit a 2-1 in Golden State Athletic Conference competition, trailing three undefeated league teams. The Mustangs have now won three straight games.
The Achilles heel for the Lions was bench scoring, as the Mustangs held a plus 19 point difference in that statistical area.
In addition to her 20 points, Holsinger added seven rebounds and two blocks while Doucette chipped in six rebounds of her own. Kennedy posted a line of 14 points, five rebounds, and a game-high three blocks in the loss.
Whitney Best dropped 4-4 free throws and made all two of her shots from downtown to lead the Mustangs with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the victory. Arianna Hanson snatched 14 rebounds, the game high for both squads. Lindsley and Bianca Cubello contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Next week, the Lions head to the Las Vegas Shootout hosted by the frontier Conference. Vanguard’s three-game slate starts on December 19th against the university of Montana-Western.
