College roundup: Vanguard women’s basketball advances to semifinals

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Vanguard 71, William Woods 34

BILLINGS, Mont. – The No. 5-ranked Lions blitzed the unranked Owls from Missouri in the quarterfinals of the NAIA Tournament on Saturday at Rocky Mountain College.

Vanguard (30-3) will meet No. 2-ranked Lewis-Clark State (34-1) in a semifinal clash on Monday at 7 p.m. Pacific Time.

It’s the Lions’ first semifinal appearance since 2008, when they won their only national title. Vanguard lost in the semifinals in 2007, 2006 and 2003.

The Lions outscored the Owls, 36-11, in the second half, including a 20-3 blitz in the third quarter.

Senior Claire Lamunu, the NAIA Player of the Year, led the winners with 18 points and eight rebounds. She was eight for 12 from the field to help Vanguard shoot 46% (29 for 63).

Senior Maya Kennedy had 14 points, while freshman Victoria Chea had 12 points and a team-best seven assists.

Senior Hanna Tabron had eight points and seven rebounds for Vanguard, which held the Owls (22-12) to 26.7% field-goal shooting (12 for 45).

Vanguard had a 39-22 rebounding advantage, won the turnover battle, 22-12, and earned a 22-4 edge in points in the paint.

William Woods upset No. 3-ranked Shawnee State, 88-85, in the first round, then rallied from a 17-point deficit to knock off No. 19-ranked John Brown in the second round.

Lewis-Clark State defeated No. 7-ranked Westmont, 72-67, in a quarterfinal on Saturday.

The other semifinal Monday will be No. 10-ranked Campbellsville of Kentucky (28-6) against No. 5-ranked Oklahoma City (32-2). Campbellsville upset top-ranked Freed-Hardeman of Tennessee, 73-70, on Saturday.

The championship game is Tuesday at 6:05 p.m. PT.

Vanguard 71, Montana State Northern 65

BILLINGS, Mont. – Freshman point guard Victoria Chea had 15 points and reserve center Tania Uluhea added a career-high 14 to lead the No. 5-ranked Lions in the second-round game of the NAIA Tournament on Friday at Rocky Mountain College.

Vanguard, which improved to 29-3, received nine points and nine rebounds from senior Claire Lamunu, the NAIA Player of the Year who was three for six from the field and battled double-teams and foul trouble. Lamunu did not have a field-goal attempt in seven minutes of the first half.

Senior Maya Kennedy chipped in 11 points, junior Kandyce Smith had eight points and five rebounds, while Chea added a team-best five assists.

The No. 11-ranked Skylights finish 24-9.

BASEBALL

Golden West 7, Irvine Valley 4

IRVINE – Stephen Knapp allowed one run on three hits over seven innings to lead the visiting Rustlers in the Orange Empire Conference game Saturday.

Golden West (12-9, 4-2 in conference), which moved into third place by sweeping the Lasers (14-9, 2-4) in their three-game series this week, trailed, 1-0, through six innings, but scored two in the fifth and never trailed again.

Jeff Zordani was two for four with one run batted in and Chris Rodriguez drove in two runs to pace the visitors.

Taylor Franzman, the Rustlers’ top starting pitcher, got the final three outs to record his first save.

Knapp is 4-2.

Doubleheader

ATHERTON – Host Menlo College posted a Golden State Athletic Conference sweep over Vanguard on Saturday. The Oaks won the first game, 6-5, and claimed the second game, 10-1.

In Game 1, No. 6-ranked Menlo scored one to tie the game in the ninth, and won it in the 11th.

Shane Elias-Calles was two for five with one run batted in, while Brandon Sandoval and Brock Eissman both had two hits for the No. 16-ranked Lions.

Josh Weeks drove in two runs for Vanguard.

In the second game, Trai Patrick was two for three with one RBI for the Lions.

Tyler Steele allowed five earned runs in 2 1/3 innings to absorb his first loss in seven decisions.

Vanguard finished the day 19-12, 11-4 in conference.

Menlo, which swept the three-game weekend series to move into first place, is now 22-5, 11-2.

On Friday, Menlo scored three in the eighth to break a 3-3 tie and claim a 6-3 win.

Patrick was two for four with one RBI, while Michael Fuchs and Weeks added two hits apiece for the Lions.

SOFTBALL

Doubleheader

Host Vanguard University won a pair of 4-2 nonconference decisions against Marymount on Saturday.

In the first game, Kaitlin Estes had a two-run triple in the eighth inning to end the contest. She was three for three.

Courtney Thornhill pitched a scoreless inning of relief to improve to 9-3.

In the second game, Vanessa Dwyer pitched a complete-game four-hitter to improve to 11-3.

Vanguard finished the day 27-7.

Marymount is 4-12.

Doubleheader

Visiting Concordia earned a nonconference sweep at Vanguard on Friday, taking the first game, 4-1, and winning the second, 2-1.

Morgan Pilbin and Summer Penner had two hits each for the Lions in the first game.

In the second game, Kaitlin Estes was two for three with one run batted in to pace the hosts.

Concordia improved to 20-9-2.

Cerritos 11, Orange Coast 2

Anna Marin and Gretchen Hom were both one for two with run batted in for the host Pirates in the nonconference game Saturday.

Cerritos improved to 15-7, while OCC fell to 4-15.

Orange Coast 5, Riverside 4

Cayla Ezelle was three for three with three runs batted in to pace the host Pirates in the Orange Empire Conference game Friday.

Anna Marin was one for two with one RBI for OCC, which improved to 4-14, 2-7 in conference.

Carlie Chaulsett-Utley allowed one hit in five scoreless relief innings to earn the pitching win.

RCC is 9-9, 4-5.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

Fullerton def. Golden West

FULLERTON – The visiting Rustlers suffered a 25-21, 25-19, 25-22 setback in an Orange Empire Conference match on Friday.

Golden West fell to 7-4, 0-2 in conference.

The Hornets are 10-4, 2-0.

No statistics were available for Golden West.