Saturday, January 8
Costa Mesa, CA
5:30 PM
California Baptist University
76
at
84
Vanguard
LION SLAYERS
1/9/2011 5:13:00 AM | Women's Basketball
COSTA MESA, Calif. --- It took a herculean effort for No. 17 California Baptist University to come back from what looked like sure defeat in the imposing home of the No. 9-ranked Vanguard Lions.
Simply put, Marlee Rice and S.J. Simmons have ice in their veins.
Rice hit a clutch 3-pointer to bring CBU to within three at 70-67, with 33 seconds left in regulation, and, after Vanguard's Ariel Castillo missed two free throws, Simmons stepped up and knocked down a three with 8.8 seconds left to force overtime.
The 84-76 win snapped a 33-game home winning streak for the Lions, dating back to Nov. 29, 2008.
“The last couple minutes of regulation and into the overtime period this team showed how mentally tough they are,” said Assistant Coach Jeff Caha, who took over coaching duties when Head Coach John Marcum was ejected near the end of the first half. “S.J.'s shot was huge, Dana Olsen made plays down the stretch, V.V. Vasciunaite made plays. The biggest one of all was Marlee who hit two huge threes and knocked down a couple of free throws to help seal the win.”
The Lancers faced an 11-point deficit with 3:54 to play in regulation, and were only able to pull within eight, 66-58, with 1:39 to play.
In a tightly officiated contest, CBU seemed content to play tight defense and send the Lions to the free throw line down the stretch, as Castillo made three trips to the line in the final 90 seconds.
Facing the late deficit Brenna Hahn made a quick layup in transition and, after a Vanguard turnover, Vasciunaite knocked down two free throws to cut the lead in half. Castillo would hit four straight foul shots after that and Olsen would make a Layup for CBU to set up Simmons' and Rice's late game heroics.
The Lancers got the ball back with 40 seconds to play and Vasciunaite received the pass in the right corner. The Lions smothered the Lancers' sharp-shooter with a double team and Vasciunaite threw the ball cross court to Rice in the left corner, who proceeded to bury the shot. After the missed free throws by Castillo, CBU had one last shot with 26 seconds to play.
Without a timeout, the Lancers inbounded the ball and hurried it up the floor. With Vanguard crowding the perimeter, CBU made several passes and cuts around the 3-point line before Simmons got the pass, came off a screen and launched the shot from the elbow to tie it.
“Everybody had so much heart and determination tonight that we knew we could win even when we were down,” said Rice. “When I had my open look I just took the shot and didn't think twice. S.J. did the same thing and we were able to pull it out. We had all the energy going into overtime after that and knew we were going to win at that point.”
It was a defensive battle to open the extra period, with the two teams scoring a combined three points and CBU holding a 72-71 lead after the first two minutes of play.
After a Vanguard timeout CBU promptly went on a 12-5 run to close out the game, kicked off by a Vasciunaite jumper and Rice 3-pointer. Rice and Vasciunaite each hit a couple of free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
“This is a great win for the program and for this group of girls,” said Caha. “They have all the confidence in the world and know they can play with anybody in the country.”
Simmons led the Lancers with 18 points, playing the final minutes of regulation and the most of overtime with four fouls before fouling out. CBU had four players score in double figures, getting 15 points from both Vasciunaite and Olsen, and 10 points from Renetha Burton. Olsen also had eight rebounds to lead all players.
Vanguard was led by Trisha Goddard with 18 points and Castillo with 17. The Lions also had four players in double figures.
The win leaves CBU in a tie with The Master's atop the GSAC standings at 12-4 overall and 5-1 in conference play. Vanguard falls to 8-4, 4-2.
Simply put, Marlee Rice and S.J. Simmons have ice in their veins.
Rice hit a clutch 3-pointer to bring CBU to within three at 70-67, with 33 seconds left in regulation, and, after Vanguard's Ariel Castillo missed two free throws, Simmons stepped up and knocked down a three with 8.8 seconds left to force overtime.
The 84-76 win snapped a 33-game home winning streak for the Lions, dating back to Nov. 29, 2008.
“The last couple minutes of regulation and into the overtime period this team showed how mentally tough they are,” said Assistant Coach Jeff Caha, who took over coaching duties when Head Coach John Marcum was ejected near the end of the first half. “S.J.'s shot was huge, Dana Olsen made plays down the stretch, V.V. Vasciunaite made plays. The biggest one of all was Marlee who hit two huge threes and knocked down a couple of free throws to help seal the win.”
The Lancers faced an 11-point deficit with 3:54 to play in regulation, and were only able to pull within eight, 66-58, with 1:39 to play.
In a tightly officiated contest, CBU seemed content to play tight defense and send the Lions to the free throw line down the stretch, as Castillo made three trips to the line in the final 90 seconds.
Facing the late deficit Brenna Hahn made a quick layup in transition and, after a Vanguard turnover, Vasciunaite knocked down two free throws to cut the lead in half. Castillo would hit four straight foul shots after that and Olsen would make a Layup for CBU to set up Simmons' and Rice's late game heroics.
The Lancers got the ball back with 40 seconds to play and Vasciunaite received the pass in the right corner. The Lions smothered the Lancers' sharp-shooter with a double team and Vasciunaite threw the ball cross court to Rice in the left corner, who proceeded to bury the shot. After the missed free throws by Castillo, CBU had one last shot with 26 seconds to play.
Without a timeout, the Lancers inbounded the ball and hurried it up the floor. With Vanguard crowding the perimeter, CBU made several passes and cuts around the 3-point line before Simmons got the pass, came off a screen and launched the shot from the elbow to tie it.
“Everybody had so much heart and determination tonight that we knew we could win even when we were down,” said Rice. “When I had my open look I just took the shot and didn't think twice. S.J. did the same thing and we were able to pull it out. We had all the energy going into overtime after that and knew we were going to win at that point.”
It was a defensive battle to open the extra period, with the two teams scoring a combined three points and CBU holding a 72-71 lead after the first two minutes of play.
After a Vanguard timeout CBU promptly went on a 12-5 run to close out the game, kicked off by a Vasciunaite jumper and Rice 3-pointer. Rice and Vasciunaite each hit a couple of free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
“This is a great win for the program and for this group of girls,” said Caha. “They have all the confidence in the world and know they can play with anybody in the country.”
Simmons led the Lancers with 18 points, playing the final minutes of regulation and the most of overtime with four fouls before fouling out. CBU had four players score in double figures, getting 15 points from both Vasciunaite and Olsen, and 10 points from Renetha Burton. Olsen also had eight rebounds to lead all players.
Vanguard was led by Trisha Goddard with 18 points and Castillo with 17. The Lions also had four players in double figures.
The win leaves CBU in a tie with The Master's atop the GSAC standings at 12-4 overall and 5-1 in conference play. Vanguard falls to 8-4, 4-2.
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