by COSTA MESA, Calif. – The 9th ranked Vanguard Lions move to 19-5, 11-3 on the year with a 54-45 victory over Hope International in The Pit. Riley Holsinger (Nez Perce Tribe) recorded her 8th double-double on the year scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 boards. She added six assists and three steals to her stat line.
Amber Alexander (JR/Grand Blanc, MI) narrowly missed out on another double-double scoring 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds to go along with three steals. Samantha Doucette(JR/Irvine, CA) pitched in 14 points.
The opening minutes of the contest were played tightly, with Vanguard holding an 8-6 edge at the 15:40 mark after a pair of free throws by Doucette. Hope International regained the 11-10 lead on a right wing triple by Alexis Perry.
Perry broke the 11-11 tie with a change of pace move to the left side, netting a layup with 11 minutes remaining before half.
Trailing by four points, Holsinger laid in a finger roll around the outstretched arm of HIU center Emily Terwilliger. The Lions tied the game at 17 points apiece on Doucette’s successful midrange jumper from the left baseline.
With 6:30 showing on the clock, the Royals grabbed the offensive rebound and splashed home a three-pointer from the top of the key to take a 20-17 lead. Holsinger answered in kind on the following possession.
The entire first half was played within a four point margin, as each team held a two basket lead in the first period. At the break, HIU led 26-24.
Doucette led all scorers at the midway point, recording 13 points including 4-4 from the free throw line. Holsinger chipped in 12 points going 6-13 form the field.
Vanguard made only one of six attempts from downtown in the first half. Hope International led most statistical categories as they dominated paint points (18-8 advantage) and a combined plus-seven margin in points off turnovers and second chance points.
The Blue and Gold opened the final frame on an 11-2 run, building a 35-28 lead before five minutes had eclipsed in the period. Alexander scored eight points during the run.
Exiting a timeout with 13 minutes left in the game, Vanguard held a 40-30 advantage. The Lions continued to build their lead, pushing it to 48-30 on a layup by Alexander. The 18 point lead would be a game high for the Pride.
The Royals scored five straight points to trim the Lions edge to 48-35 with 4:53 remaining. Continuing the run, HIU cut it to an eight point VU lead with only 3:09 to go in the game.
Vanguard pushed its six point lead back up to 51-43 with two makes from the free throw line, with a little over two minutes left. Perry scored a layup to bring the margin back to six points.
The Lions held on down the stretch to take home the nine point victory despite being outscored in the paint by 10 points and an additional six points in fast breaks.
