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.