March 17, 2007

JACKSON, Tenn. - An undefeated season rolled into the semifinals for first-seeded Vanguard University (Calif.), which never trailed while posting an 82-56 victory over second-seeded Trevecca Nazarene University (Tenn.) to kick off the quarterfinals of the 27th Annual NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Championship at Oman Arena.

Jessica Richter poured in a tournament single-game high 32 points and made seven-of-12 three-pointers to lead Vanguard into the semifinals for the third time in program history.

A pair of Richter free throws with 12:22 remaining in the game capped a 9-0 run that extended a 43-37 Vanguard lead into a double-digit margin for good. Just over five minutes later, Kelly Schmidt gave Vanguard its first 20-point lead of the game on a pair of free throws that extended the lead to 65-45 with 7:04 to play, and the Lions scored 17 of the game's final 26 points to provide the final margin, Vanguard's largest post-first round victory in program history.

Vanguard jumped out to a 14-4 lead five and a half minutes into the game, but Mariska Reed and Abby Lawson combined for the next nine points to bring Trevecca Nazarene to within a point at 14-13 with 12:05 remaining in the opening half. Richter's three-pointer with 5:06 left pushed the lead back to 10 points at 30-20, but Lawson scored four of Trevecca Nazarene's eight points to help close the halftime gap to 35-28.

In addition to her 32 points, Richter grabbed three steals to become the tournament's total steals leader with 11 through three games, and she is averaging 25 points per game thus far. Schmidt added 17 points and seven rebounds, and Tiari Goold dished out a game-high eight assists to grab the tournament's assist lead with 23 so far.

Trevecca Nazarene has now appeared in three straight NAIA quarterfinals without advancing to the semifinals. The Trojans were led by Lawson, who scored 17 points off the bench, including a perfect seven-of-seven from the free-throw line. Reed added 11 points, while Jennifer Bognar tallied 10 points and a team-high six rebounds.

Vanguard remains unbeaten through 31 games and will take on the Cumberland/Langston winner in Monday's first semifinal at 6 p.m. Trevecca Nazarene drops to 27-7 to finish the season.