INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – [BOX SCORE] Heading into halftime down by six was just the motivation that the No. 2-seeded Vanguard (Calif.) needed on Thursday. After struggling to find a solution to the Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) offense throughout the first half, the Lions outscored the Warhawks 20-2 in the third quarter en-route to a 60-53 win in the first round of the 2016 NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship.

Vanguard (25-6) had its sights set on advancing into the second round after a surprising loss in the first round in 2015. This season, the Lions needed 20 minutes to figure-out its opponent and utilized a strong defensive effort through the third quarter to get it done.

"I let them know at half that we didn't follow anything on teh game plan, and if we did we would win and if we didn't we would lose," said Vanguard head coach Russ Davis. "We wanted to get the ball inside and we wanted to attack them, because we thought we had an advantage in the post."

Auburn Montgomery (23-10), on the other hand, took its game right to the Lions. The Warhawks outscored its opponent 23-18 in the first quarter alone, led by the efforts of Reggotta Craig and Jatoria Carter. The duo combined for 16 points of the team’s 23 in the opening 10 minutes, and put the team from California on its heels.

Leading by five after one quarter, with a combined 41 points scored, the second quarter became a defensive battle. The Warhawks ran its lead to as many as 11 with 5:31 remaining in the half before Vanguard began to fire back. The Lions ended the period on a 7-2 run and brought the game to within six.

While the game looked like it was headed toward an entertaining finish, Vanguard hit the gas in the third quarter on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. The Lions entered the Championship ranked No. 14 in the nation in average points allowed, and showed why it is one of the most effective defensive teams in the NAIA.

The Lions shut-down the Warhawk offense in the third quarter. Auburn Montgomery hit just one of its 16 shots from the floor in the period as Vanguard’s offense only heated-up.

Natasha Hartvich led the third quarter by knocking-down a three-ball, one of two on the day for the native of Denmark, and cut the lead to three. Maya Kennedy followed with a three of her own to tie it, and from this point forward, it was all Lions.

Vanguard went 9-16 in the third quarter from the floor (56 percent) as Claire Lamunu led the way. The junior posted eight points in the quarter to give her team a distinct advantage heading into the fourth.

The Warhawks, however, did not go quietly into the night. Auburn Montgomery put together quite a start to the fourth quarter that thrilled its fans that had made the trip to Missouri. In the first 1:27 of the final period of play, the team from Alabama put together a 9-0 run and cut its deficit to 47-44.

The excitement was short-lived, however. The Lions responded with seven consecutive points and ran the lead back to double digits.

Vanguard, statistically the top offensive rebounding team in the nation, pulled-down just 11 offensive boards in the game, seven under its season average. They did, however, make up for that on the defensive glass. The Lions pulled-down a total of 48 rebounds in the game.

Reggotta Craig led the Warhawks. The senior from Hoover, Ala., posted 17 points in the game, which was her season average. Jatoria Carter, the guard from Montgomery, Ala., finished with 16 points and six assists, and rounded-out the Warhawks in double digits.

The Lion offense was powered by the combined effort of Melissa Norman, Claire Lamunu, Samantha Doucette and Kandyce Smith. The quartet combined for 54 of the team’s 60 points in the game, and all finised in double digits. Both Norman and Smith finished with double-doubles in the game.

Vanguard will now advance to the second round of the NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship on Friday where they will face the No. 6-seeded Pikeville (Ky.). Earlier in the day, the Bears upset No. 3-seed Wayland Baptist to advance in game one of the day.Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at the Silverstein Eye Center Arena in Independence, Mo.