Azusa Pacific Holds Off Vanguard in GSAC Final

Vanguard’s late second-half charge came up short and Azusa Pacific held on to beat the Lions, 77-71 in the Golden State Athletic Conference women’s basketball tournament final Tuesday.

Both teams will play in the NAIA National Tournament, March 14-20 in Tulsa, Okla.

“It was just one of those nights,” Lion Coach Russ Davis said. “We didn’t get any calls to go our way, we didn’t play that well on defense and we didn’t execute our offense very well. We’re going to have to pick up our game in a lot of areas heading into the NAIA tournament.”

Kelly Boeke led Vanguard (28-6) with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Laura Lee added 18 points on six three-pointers.

The Cougars (26-6) shot 51% (28 of 55) from the field. The Lions, ranked No. 10 in the nation by the NAIA, were held to 35% (24 of 69).

“Maybe this is the type of game that will get the team’s attention,” Davis said. “We’ve won eight in a row going into this game. Hopefully, this will grab everyone’s attention and they’ll all step up their games.”

Azusa Pacific outscored Vanguard, 35-4, off the bench, led by Jennifer Barbone’s 15 points and Allison Box’s 14 points.