SAN JACINTO – In its return to the SoCal Regionals on Wednesday, the SBCC women's basketball team closed out its season with a valiant effort at Mt. San Jacinto, falling to the Eagles 66-57.
Playing on the road against a Mt. San Jacinto (27-2) team that had won 16 straight games and lost just twice all season, the Vaqueros (15-14) trailed by just three points heading into the final three minutes. The Eagles ended the game on a 10-4 run.
As a team, Santa Barbara stayed in the game with its outside shooting, knocking down 11-of-28 from three-point range. The Vaqueros ended the year hitting 10 threes in each of its last three games, something it hadn't done in three straight all year. They also took care of the ball, turning it over just 14 times to Mt. San Jacinto's 25.
The Eagles made just 2-of-9 from downtown, but owned a 56-34 rebound advantage.
Sophomore guard Brianna Jacobs led the way with 13 points, knocking down 3-of-5 from three-point range. She also had four steals and three assists.
Three other Vaqueros reached double-figures. Sophomore forward Lia Rodriguez also hit three treys to tie a season-high with 11 points. Off the bench, freshmen Kiani Rojas and Paityn Persson both scored 10. Persson had a team-high 13 rebounds as well.
SBCC got out to a great start, using a 7-0 run to take a five point lead five minutes into the game on a layup by Persson. The Eagles closed the first quarter on a 14-0 run to lead 17-6 heading into the second.
An Isabella Favazzo three-pointer made it a one-possession game 23-20 midway through the second. Rodriguez later hit second three of the half to make it 30-28 in favor of the home side with 1:45 to go before halftime.
After the Eagles pushed their lead to nine in the third, the Vaqueros reeled off nine unanswered, tying it 45-45 on a Jacobs triple. A 7-0 spurt gave the Eagles the lead back from there and they would close it out leading the rest of the way.
Sophomore Isabella Jensen Williams finished with seven points, five rebounds, seven steals and a pair of assists. She ends the year with team-leading averages of 14 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.2 steals per game.
Favazzo went 2-of-4 on threes for six points to round out SBCC's scorers.