Kelly Schmidt had 27 points and 16 rebounds as Vanguard (Calif.) defeated St. Xavier 63-51 in the opening round of the NAIA Division I women’s tournament Thursday in Jackson, Tenn.
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Jacki DiMaggio and Jayme Brown each had 12 points to lead St. Xavier (26-10), while Rachel Merkell added nine points and 11 rebounds.
A 12-0 run early in the second half gave the Lions (30-2) some breathing room.
The difference was at the free throw line: Vanguard made 34 of 42, while St. Xavier was 8 of 16.
“Their coach [Russ Davis] said that was the worst game they’ve played,” St. Xavier coach Bob Hallberg said. “I like to think we had something to do with that.”
The Cougars forced Vanguard, ranked No. 3 in the country, into 30 turnovers. But St. Xavier only shot 26 percent from the field for the game.
“If we made a few more of our jump shots, we might have had a chance,” Hallberg said. “The effort was there. I think we proved that we’re capable of playing at this level.”