2003 Division I Women's Basketball National Championship

March 19, 2003
Contact: Roger Redmon
NAIA Media Operations
(731) 265-2016

Vanguard (California) Moves into Second Round with 62-48 Win over Mobile (Alabama)

JACKSON, Tenn. – Vanguard University (California), the No. 2-seed in the fourth quarter of the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship Tournament, advanced to the second round with a 62-48 win over the University of Mobile (Alabama) Wednesday night at Oman Arena.

Vanguard (26-9) held a slim 24-23 halftime lead over the seventh-seeded Rams, but the Lions went on a 10-0 run midway through the second half and built their advantage to as many as 16 points en route to the victory.

Mobile (22-13) hit 19-of-60 (31.7 percent) field goal attempts, and the Rams missed all 18 of their three-point tries. Vanguard connected on 23-of-62 (37.1 percent) from the field and 9-of-30 (30 percent) from the three-point line.

Senior guard Robbin Dittenbir led a balanced Lion attack with 11 points, while senior guard Laura Lee also reached double figures with ten. Dittenbirr handed out five of the Lions’ 14 assists. Sophomore guard Jennifer Wilcox paced Vanguard on the boards with 11 rebounds.

Mobile’s 6-foot freshman center, Crystal Coston, produced one of the opening day’s top individual efforts with 14 points and 18 rebounds. Coston helped the Rams to a 46-41 edge on the boards. Senior forward Paula Dill paced Mobile in scoring with 15 points.

Vanguard, which is making its fifth national tournament appearance, will face the winner of the Transylvania University (Kentucky)- Auburn University-Montgomery (Alabama) game at 4:30 p.m. CST Friday, March 21 at Oman Arena.

-NAIA-

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