Vanguard crown far out

COSTA MESA — Being that her mother traveled more than 7,000 miles to see her play for the first time at home in her final game at The Pit, it was only proper that Vanguard University senior Diana Neves treated her mother to a little long-distance heroics.

Neves netted two of the Lions’ three three-pointers in the final 1:43, which enabled the hosts to rally past a scrappy Westmont squad, 68-66, in the title game of the Golden State Athletic Conference women’s basketball tournament Monday night.

Neves, who was part of a Vanguard perimeter shooting corps that had missed 15 of its first 16 second-half three-point attempts, connected from the top of the key with 1:43 remaining to pull the No. 3-ranked and top-seeded hosts within 63-62.

After Bridgette Reyes made a steal, Neves connected again from beyond the arc to give the Lions (25-2) a 65-63 advantage with 1:06 remaining.

After senior reserve Nondi Johnson blocked a Westmont shot in the paint then collected the rebound, Vanguard cashed in the ensuing possession when senior Rachel Copeland sank a three ball from the left corner to ignite a deafening roar from the home fans.

Westmont (18-13), the tournament’s No. 6 seed, which was 9-11 in the conference regular season, finalized the scoring with a three-pointer by senior Jessica Case with 14 seconds left.

After Copeland missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity with 12 seconds left, Case drove the lane only to miss an off-balance attempt from five feet that was rebounded by Reyes.

Reyes missed from the foul line with two seconds left, but the Warriors’ subsequent heave from three-quarters court was not even close, allowing the Lions to claim their 16th straight win and their second straight GSAC tournament crown.

The Lions, NAIA Division I champions two seasons ago, will make their ninth straight trip to Jackson, Tenn. for the NAIA Tournament March 17 through 23.

And they will make the trip a little less confident, after Westmont stopped a run of lopsided decisions.

The Warriors, who needed to win to advance to Tennessee, made nine of their first 12 field-goal tries and led by as many as 12 until Vanguard finished the final 5:05 of the first half on a 17-2 run to go up, 42-39, at intermission.

Vanguard opened the second half with a 6-0 spurt to make it 17 straight points, but Westmont mustered one final surge, eventually pulling even at 59 with 3:18 left.

The Warriors then got back-to-back buckets from 6-foot-1 senior Alisha Heglund to seize a four-point lead with 1:57 left.

“I had [Copeland and Neves] on the bench and I finally said. ‘You know what? If we’re going to go down, we’re going down with those gunners [on the floor], because they are due,’ ” Vanguard Coach Russ Davis said. “So, I’m glad I put them back in the game.”

Neves had three second-half threes to finish with 13 points off the bench. She was one for eight from threedom until connecting on her final two long-distance launches.

“I was struggling a little bit, then I got fed up,” Neves said. “I think it was about time I made at least one. I think I made my mom [Toni] proud. I bet she was having a heart attack during the game.”

Reyes, the GSAC Player of the Year, had all 18 of her points in the first half. She did have five second-half assists to finish with a team-high eight.

Johnson collected 12 rebounds to go with her seven points in 19 minutes.

“Nondi was huge,” Davis said. “We don’t win that ballgame without her.”

Johnson and Davis said to have pulled out a close game may be a blessing, heading to Tennessee.

“It was a very humbling win,” Johnson said. “In Tennessee, there are going to be teams 10 times bigger than Westmont, so I think we need to bring it harder than we brought it tonight. It was a good win, but we need to pick it up in Tennessee.”

Added Davis: “It was a good win. I’m glad we had a game like that where we were down and we had to come back. That’s going to help us back in Tennessee.”

Senior Molly Pfohl had 10 points and six rebounds, while junior Sarah Boyd had seven assists and six boards to go with her two points for the winners.

Westmont shot 49.1% from the field, while Vanguard wound up at 34.8%, including just 31% from three-point range (nine for 31).

“We gave up three three-pointers in the last two minutes and that was the game,” Westmont Coach Kirsten Moore said. “[The Lions] obviously stepped up and hit big shots.”

Golden State Athletic

Conference Tournament Final

Vanguard 68, Westmont 66

Wmt – Evancoe 8, Heglund 23, Stevens 13, Case 10, Kittle 4, Hardeman 2, Hensley 2, Farias 2, McCain 2.

3-pt. goals – Case 2, Evancoe 2.

Fouled out – None.

VU – Copeland 8, Pfohl 10, Reyes 18, Blied 3, Boyd 2, Neves 13, Johnson 7, Beavor 3, Burns 2, Halberg 2.

3-pt. goals – Neves 3, Copeland 2, Reyes 2, Blied 1, Beavor 1.

Fouled out – None.

Halftime – VU, 42-39.