NAIA TOURNAMENT NOTEBOOK:Practice pays off for Lions

JACKSON, Tenn. — Vanguard University junior Jessica Richter, the NAIA and Golden State Athletic Conference Player of the Year, added to her sparkling reputation with 32 points in the Lions’ 82-56 quarterfinal victory over Trevecca Nazarene, in the NAIA Tournament at Oman Arena.

She said a longer warmup time may have contributed to her making 11 of 18 field-goal attempts, including seven of 12 from three-point range against the Trojans.

Playing the first of four quarterfinal games Saturday, Vanguard was allowed to begin shooting on the court 30 minutes prior to game time. Teams not playing the first game of the day have been allotted 10 minutes to warm up between games, due to the eight-games-per-day schedule the first three days of the tournament.

“It was nice that we got our normal 20 minutes to warm up, instead of our regular 30-second warmup,” Richter said only somewhat facetiously. “It helps to get some shots off, before you go out there.”

FAMILY HEIRLOOMS

Vanguard senior Kelly Schmidt is on a quest for the NAIA championship ring that has escaped her in three previous trips to Jackson.

But if she gets one, it won’t be the first in her family.

Schmidt’s father, Dan Schmidt, was a 6-foot-7 junior sixth man on the 1974-75 Grand Canyon College (now University) team that won the NAIA men’s title in Kansas City, Mo.

The school, based in Phoenix, was led by Bayrd Forrest, who went on to play briefly for the Phoenix Suns, Dan Schmidt said.

The older Schmidt was not without his disappointments at the national tournament.

“We won it my junior year, but we were upset in the second round when I was a senior,” he said.

CENTER OF ATTENTION

Vanguard Coach Russ Davis believes his players are so close, the impact of a strong performance from a reserve energizes his entire team.

Toward that end, backup center Andrea Jacobson, a 6-foot-3 senior, had seven points and seven rebounds in 12 minutes Saturday against Trevecca Nazarene.

“Our kids really feed off energy things,” Davis said. “When Andrea came in the game, I yelled at her and told her that her teammates needed her. I had challenged her at halftime and I had told her a long time ago that I was going to try not to yell at her. But, today, I tried to light a fire under her, because it has been about a month and a half since I really got on her. I know she doesn’t want to let her teammates down, and I was just really glad she responded the right way.

“She gave us seven points and seven rebounds in 12 minutes and she got hustle plays and you saw everyone react on the bench. Everyone got fired up and she was laughing and giggling out there and everybody is happy for her, because we all know what she can do. I was happy to see her play like that tonight and give her some confidence, so hopefully, she can carry that on to our next game, too. I was really excited for her.”

Jacobson’s contributions continued even after she was replaced by starter Rachel Besse with 7:38 left.

As the two crossed paths near the Vanguard bench, Jacobson looked Besse in the eye, grabbed her hand and said adamantly “Let’s go! Let’s Go!”

Three seconds later, Besse, who had been scoreless to that point, sank a 12-foot jumper to put the Lions up, 63-45.

Jacobson also had a big game in last year’s NAIA Tournament. She scored a team-high 20 points and made nine of 12 field-goal attempts in the Lions’ 91-46 first-round win over Texas College.

THE SOUTH RISES

The TranSouth Athletic Conference has clearly been dominant at this year’s NAIA Tournament, with four of its teams in the final eight.

No. 3-seeded Union University, the two-time defending NAIA Division I champion based in Jackson, won the regular-season and conference tournament titles.

Trevecca Nazarene, ranked No. 9 in the final poll, was second in the conference regular-season and runner-up in the tournament.

No. 12-ranked Cumberland of Lebanon, Tenn. also advanced to the quarterfinals, as did No. 19-ranked Lambuth, which upset No. 2-seeded Xavier, 77-61, in the second round.

Cumberland defeated Langston in its quarterfinal and will meet Vanguard in the first semifinal Monday at 6 p.m.

It’s the first time Cumberland has advanced past the second round in three tournament appearances.

Cumberland, which finished third in the regular-season conference standings and lost in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament, is the only one of 15 at-large entries into the NAIA Tournament still playing.

“I think it’s the toughest conference in the nation,” Trevecca Nazarene Coach Gary Van Atta said after his team fell to Vanguard Saturday.