Women’s Basketball: Lions fall in GSAC final
FULLERTON — Unfortunately for the Vanguard University women’s basketball team, Nitake Tuesday did not include a good time had by all.
Natalie Nitake, a 5-foot-10 junior guard from The Master’s College, made all four of her three-point attempts and all four of her free throws in the second half to lead the No. 4-seeded Mustangs to a 60-54 victory over the No. 2-seeded Lions in the championship game of the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament at Hope International University.
Nitake, who came in averaging 9.8 points per game, finished with 19 points and was five for nine from three-point range to key the victory, the second for the No. 17-ranked visitors in three games with the No. 7-ranked Lions this season.
Vanguard (22-7), playing without GSAC Player of the Year Riley Holsinger, who went down with a season-ending knee injury in the regular-season finale, advances to the NAIA Tournament, March 18-24 in Independence, Mo. Pairings for the NAIA Tournament will be announced Wednesday.
The Lions which defeated The Masters, 72-58, at home on Jan. 31 to avenge a 71-64 setback in Santa Clarita on Dec. 13, led, 24-21, at halftime and upped the advantage to five in the first 21 seconds of the second half.
But the Mustangs (24-8), who extended their winning streak to five, including a semifinal upset of conference regular-season champion Concordia, went on an 11-0 run that included three Nitake three-pointers within a 75-second span, the latter two just 22 seconds apart.
Vanguard, led by junior All-American Samantha Doucette’s 23 points, trailed by no fewer than four in the final 9:44.
TMC shot 54.4% from the field in the second half, including six of eight three-pointers. The Mustangs also converted all nine of their second-half foul shots and finished 10 for 11 from the free-throw line.
“[Vanguard Coach Russ Davis, who earned win No. 500 in his brilliant 19-season career in the semifinals] is a good friend and is one of the best coaches in the country, if not the best,” said TMC Coach Dan Waldeck, who captured his first GSAC tourney crown in his seven seasons, the school’s first since 2006. “Their team was without a key player, which made a difference, but I’m proud of my team’s ability to come back. I thought [the Lions] really played inspired and smart. I thought we made shots down the stretch and got key rebounds and stops. We’ll take it and we’re excited.”
Davis said he was proud of his players for battling into the final without Holsinger, but was not impressed by his team’s execution at either end Tuesday.
“We just messed up on a lot of things that we haven’t been messing up on; coverages and leaving people open,” Davis said. “We forgot what we were supposed to do, what plays we were running and what defense we were in. Give Master’s credit, because when we did forget our responsibilities on defense, they made us pay. But I thought we didn’t play very well at all. We had no offensive flow.”
The Mustangs’ man-to-man defense limited penetration and held the Lions’ three posts to just 13 combined points on five-of-16 shooting.
Vanguard junior Amber Alexander, an all-conference forward, had six points, two rebounds and two turnovers. She was two for nine from the field.
Doucette made seven of 16 field-goal tries and eight of nine foul shots in 40 minutes and earned praise from both coaches.
“Sammy did what she could,” Davis said. “We were lucky it was that close.”
Added Waldeck: “I thought [Doucette] was just fantastic. She willed her team to be in that game. She made tough shots and got to the free-throw line. She is hard to guard.”
Nitake also proved hard to negate.
“She was fantastic in the second half,” Waldeck said of Nitake. “She’s a great shooter and she has been big for us, especially hitting shots down the stretch.”
Vanguard collected 14 of its 30 rebounds on the offensive end to earn a 10-0 advantage in second-chance points and a 30-27 edge on the glass. The Lions had 12 turnovers, three fewer than the winners.
But Vanguard, which will make its 17th trip to the NAIA tournament, finished 18 for 51 from the field (35.3%) and TMC posted an 18-10 edge in bench scoring.
“It breaks my heart to see [Holsinger] out,” Waldeck said. “You want every team to be able to be healthy. I know God’s teaching a lot through it, but their team played with great character.”
Maya Kennedy had nine points and a team-best three assists for Vanguard.
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Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament
Final
The Master’s 60, Vanguard 54
TMC – Cubello 11, Hanson 2, Nitake 19, Lindsey 7, Best 3, Thompson 8, Lowery 4, Rivera 4, Kingery 2.
3-pt goals – Nitake 5, Thompson 2, Best 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
VU – Alexander 6, Goff 6, Doucette 23, Kennedy 9, Tabron 0, Blankenship 3, Martin 3, Harter 3, Zugasti 1.
3-pt goals – Doucette 1, Kennedy, Martin 1, Blankenship 1, Harter 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
Halftime – 24-21, VU.