Hear Them Roar

There’s a movement under way at Vanguard University and Russ Davis, the women’s basketball coach, is leading the way.

Davis committed to rehabilitating the program four years ago and his dedication has paid off this season. The Lions (9-2) are 12th in the NAIA poll, the highest ranking ever for a Golden State Athletic Conference women’s team, and own a 41-game home winning streak.

Davis has helped Vanguard turn the corner by attracting better players to the small Costa Mesa school formerly known as Southern California Christian.

“I brought some kids in here that were used to winning at the high school or junior college level,” Davis said. “I thought it was important to get that mentality.”

Davis has attracted local players to the campus and others from as far away as Alaska. He coaches a successful traveling team, which allows him to scout many of the nation’s top players during tournaments.

“With the NAIA, you can go up and talk to them right there and be personable with them and get to know them,” Davis said. “With the NCAA, you’re not allowed to have that contact, or only at certain times, so that’s a big advantage for us.”

A big attraction for players is the school’s Christian atmosphere and Davis’ commitment toward building an NAIA powerhouse.

“This program has been improving ever since Coach Davis got here,” said junior forward Rachel Fikse, a transfer from Redlands. “He’s worked real hard to get this program where it’s at and the girls are just working their butts off.”

There’s only one returning starter from last season’s team, which won 27 games and advanced to the NAIA tournament for the second consecutive year. There’s also not a senior on the 13-player roster.

“Next year, I think we’re going to be really good,” Davis said. “I’ve got some outstanding freshmen that can play Division I that came here because I convinced them that we have a goal of winning a national championship. I told them we needed them to come here so we can do that.”

One of Vanguard’s prized freshmen is Laura Lee, an honorable mention USA Today All-American last season at Palmer (Alaska) High. Davis made his pitch to Lee after watching her sink eight three-pointers against his traveling team at a tournament in Arizona. Now the 5-7 guard comes off the bench averaging nearly five three-pointers a game and leading the Lions in scoring with a 17.1 average.

“That was a big catch for us,” Davis said. “Signing somebody like that really helps your program out because they let everyone else know it’s OK to go play NAIA.”

The freshman class also includes starting shooting guard Robin Dittenbir of Dinuba, south of Fresno in Tulare County, and Deborah Candelaria of Page (Ariz.) High, who is currently out with a calf injury.

“Candelaria is probably going to be one of the best to ever play here,” Davis said. “She’s 6 foot and can play the three, four and five positions (small forward, power forward and center).”

Vanguard’s remaining starters are junior point guard Becki Huddle, a transfer from North Idaho College in Couer d’Alene; sophomore center Kelly Boeke from Fountain Valley High, who is the lone returning starter; junior shooting guard Marisa Emde of Marina High, and Fikse.

“We came together a lot faster than everyone thought we would,” Boeke said. “I think we’re doing awesome. We still have a lot of potential, still have a lot of things to get done, but we’re on our way.”

The Lions host a four-team tournament Wednesday and Thursday and will have their home winning streak tested against Evangel (Mo.) College on the event’s second day.

“They’re tough,” Davis said. “We played them two years ago and we barely beat them. They just lost a one-point game to Southern Nazarene, which is really good at this level.”