SANTA BARBARA, CA – The Santa Barbara City College Women's Basketball team beat Monterey Peninsula Friday night at home, 69-44.
It was the first game since Thanksgiving break, and head coach Sandrine Krul credited a vigorous practice schedule during the week for her team's early success.
"We decided to run our practices for the past three days as a game, with 40-minute scrimmages on Monday through Wednesday," Krul said. "It really helped our team get game ready."
It was also the first game all 12 Vaqueros were healthy—the first time SBCC had a full squad since November 3.
"It was great to see all the players come out and build our chemistry," Krul added.
The Vaqueros were more than ready, shooting the lights out in the first quarter on the way to a 26-3 opening lead. 3-point shooting was key, as the Vaqueros shot 6 for 9 from beyond the arc in the first frame.
Continuing into the second quarter, SBCC reached 25 points again, capping off the first half shooting 53% (20 for 38) overall. Meanwhile, they held Monterey Peninsula to just 19% (5 for 26). The halftime score was 51-16 Vaqueros.
"I think our team definitely executed well in the first half sharing the ball and keeping the energy high," sophomore guard Eva Carrejo said. Carrejo had 10 first half points, shooting 4 for 6 with 2 threes.
"[Eva] was able to hit her open shots because we worked on our timing in our half court. It was great to see the team sharing the ball!" Krul added.
The Vaqueros cruised in the second half to a 25-point victory, despite the shooting cooling down. Paityn Persson and Lily Mires tied for the team lead in points with 12, with Eva Carrejo finishing with 10. Persson also led all Vaqueros in steals and blocks with 3 apiece.
Persson and Mires each had 5 rebounds, too, along with guard Leila Chisholm. Chisholm also had 6 assists to lead the team.
Kaylee Bosetti had 6 rebounds, with Evette Allen grabbing 8 to lead the team.
"This is Evette's first college game back from her injury and in 12 minutes she had 8 rebounds. I'm super proud of that because that builds the team's confidence," Krul said.
"Our motto for the week was timing builds team chemistry and that builds MTXE—our program motto of Mental Toughness eXtra Effort," Krul concluded. "The team bought into the concept for three days, so we will continue to build off this W."
"Our chemistry is falling into place, and we are going to come into the next game with the same momentum and build off of today's game," Carrejo said.
The Vaqueros (2-6) look to keeping it rolling, traveling east to Bakersfield on Thursday before a few games at Victor Valley to round out the weekend.
