NAIA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT:Richter leads VU to semis

JACKSON, Tenn. — It was suggested to Trevecca Nazarene women’s basketball coach Gary Van Atta that his team ran into a bit of a buzz saw in top-seeded Vanguard, which defeated the Trojans, 82-56, in the quarterfinals of the NAIA Tournament Saturday at Oman Arena.

“I’d say it was more like a chainsaw,” Van Atta said of the Lions (31-0), who blitzed to an 8-0 lead, and had early second-half runs of 8-0 and 9-0 to put away Trevecca Nazarene (27-7) and advance to the semifinals for the second straight season, the third time in five seasons.

Vanguard will meet Cumberland University of Tennessee (26-7) Monday night at 6 p.m. for the right to advance to what would be the Lions’ first NAIA title-game appearance.

Cumberland, which was ranked No. 12 in the final NAIA Division I poll, defeated Langston, 72-71, in another quarterfinal Saturday.

“When this team left here last year [after a semifinal upset loss to Lubbock Christian], we met and we had some pretty lofty goals,” Vanguard Coach Russ Davis said. “It’s great to go to the Final Four, but that’s not what our goal is. Our goal is try to get to the big game, so we still have 40 minutes to play and we’re really going to be focused on that task at hand. We just want an opportunity to play in that [title] game and then just have an opportunity to compete for the big prize. But [the final is] Tuesday, and we can’t really worry about that, until we worry about our next opponent. We’ll start talking about that later [Saturday] night.

The Lions weren’t caught looking past Trevecca, which brought a handful of dangerous outside shooters and a balanced offense into the contest.

But the Trojans, like most teams, were clearly taken aback by Vanguard’s aggressive, two-three zone defense, which helped force Trevecca to miss its first six field-goal tries and its first nine three-point attempts.

“They’re so long and athletic,” Van Atta said. “They have long arms and are so big. I thought we did a good job the first half of rebounding with them, but we weren’t making any shots.”

Trevecca, which came in shooting 35% as a team from three-point range, finished one for 13 in the first half from beyond the arc. It made only one of 10 three-point attempts after halftime to finish two of 23 (8.7%).

Meanwhile, Vanguard junior Jessica Richter, the NAIA and Golden State Athletic Conference Player of the Year, made five of eight three-point tries on her way to 18 first-half points.

Richter and senior teammate Kelly Schmidt, the 2006 NAIA Player of the Year, combined for 28 points before intermission, on 10-of-18 shooting.

During one stretch that spanned nearly 12 1/2 minutes, Richter (11) and Schmidt combined for 20 straight Vanguard points, helping the designated hosts to a 30-20 advantage.

“In the first half [Richter and Schmidt] carried us, absolutely,” Davis said. “And that’s what players of the year do.”

Van Atta was similarly impressed by the Lions’ marquee talent.

“Only one team in America has the Player of the Year,” Van Atta said. “And they have two. Richter was the difference in the first half. For us to be down [35-28] I thought was pretty good.”

But Vanguard’s “supporting cast” stepped forward in the second half, allowing the favorites to run away for what Davis called their most complete victory in three tournament games.

Senior Lacey Burns had eight of her 10 points after halftime, while senior point guard Tiari Goold had seven of her eight points. Goold also contributed a game-high eight assists for the winners.

Andrea Jacobson, a senior reserve center, had six of her seven rebounds and four of her seven points in the final 20 minutes, to highlight a six-player bench that combined to log a tournament-high 43 minutes.

“To be honest, we knew Richter was good,” Van Atta said. “But I didn’t know she was that good. She stepped up big. I was worried about us wanting to give [Richter] some extra attention after what she did in the fist half and that’s what happened. It allowed their other kids to get it going, offensively. Once that happened and the lead got to double digits, Cinderella’s pumpkin came back to life.”

Richter, who finished with 32 points, was 11 of 18 from the field and seven of 12 from threedom. She also had a game-high three steals.

Schmidt added 17 points and shared the team rebounding lead with Jacobson and Burns (seven apiece).

Senior center Rachel Besse had four points, but her impact defensively (three of her four blocked shots came in the first half) contributed to holding the Trojans to 34% shooting for the game (18 of 53).

“To a person, we’re happy that we won, but this is just another game,” Davis said. We’ve got bigger things to accomplish. We’ve been here, done that — [getting to the semifinals]. We’re trying to get somewhere we haven’t been before — [the final]. We’re going to have more than 48 hours rest, before we’re going to have to play again. I’m excited about our chances.”

Schmidt is also encouraged about Vanguard’s progress in its three tournament games.

“I think this year there’s a difference [from her three previous trips to the tournament], because we’re playing a little better each game,” Schmidt said. “Our first game [a 74-64 win over Harris-Stowe], we didn’t come out with great focus. Last game [a 66-57 win over Oklahoma City], we played better, but not our best. And now, we’re peaking at the right time.”

Van Atta agreed.

“I know [the Lions] got a lot of criticism after the first [tournament] game, and everyone was wondering when the real Vanguard was going to show up,” Van Atta said. “By golly, they were there tonight.”

NAIA TournamentTrevecca Nazarene -- Reed 11, Bognar 10, Archie 5, Gibson 2, Lawson 17, Atteberry 5, McFarlin 4, Wright 2.

Quarterfinal

Vanguard 82,

Trevecca Nazarene 56

3-pt. goals -- Reed 1, Archie 1.

Fouled out -- None.

Technicals -- None.

Vanguard -- Richter 32, Schmidt 17, Burns 10, Goold 8, Besse 4, Jacobson 7, Blied 3, Rinke 1.

3-pt. goals -- Richter 7, Burns 2, Goold, Blied 1.

Halftime -- 35-28, VU.