Beavor, begging key win

COSTA MESA — After just 99 seconds, Russ Davis had seen enough. And when the Vanguard University women's basketball coach witnessed still more dominance on the offensive glass by visiting Point Loma Nazarene on Tuesday after his timeout tirade followed the Sea Lions' five-shot opening possession, he decided pride was not too big a sacrifice to make.

"I went to them begging," Davis said after his team pulled away in the second half for a 70-54 Golden State Athletic Conference victory that keeps the No. 6-ranked Lions (5-2, 3-0 in the GSAC) tied with The Master's atop the conference standings. "I said 'Now, I'm not asking, I'm begging you,' " Davis said of his plea for his players to rebound more effectively. "I guess that works, so I should beg before the game."

Point Loma (3-3, 1-2) had four offensive rebounds on its opening possession and 14 at halftime, when it held a 23-14 rebounding edge. But Vanguard posted a 21-20 advantage on the glass after intermission.

When the Lions started limiting the visitors to one shot, Point Loma shots fell far less frequently. The Sea Lions, who had beaten the Lions in five of their eight most-recent meetings coming in, shot just 25% in the final 20 minutes.

After Point Loma claimed its final lead at 45-44 with 15:19 left in the game, Vanguard sophomore guard Veronica Beavor triggered a 7-0 Lions run with a three-pointer that wrested the lead for good.

Beavor, who came in averaging 11.8 points per game, scored 21 to pace the winners. She hit four of six three-point attempts and finished six of 10 from the field.

The 5-foot-5 Costa Mesa resident who prepped at Orange Lutheran High added five rebounds. She was also five of six from the free-throw line, where Vanguard netted 16 of 18.

Point Loma made just four of 10 foul shots and committed 14 turnovers to Vanguard's 10.

"Point Loma is definitely one of our top teams we want to beat," said Beavor, who grew up four minutes from the Vanguard gym. "This is my third year [she redshirted during the 2008-09 season] and we've lost to them twice [both visits the last two years to San Diego]. To me, that's unacceptable and that's unacceptable to this program."

Three players produced 32 of the Sea Lions' 36 first-half points, led by stout 6-1 junior Kaitlyn Trotter, who had 13 at the break. Trotter maintained her production after halftime, but guards Kiley Berlinski and Crissa Jackson, who combined for 19 first-half points, managed just three between them in the second half.