SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA – The Santa Barbara City College Women's Basketball team won at Cuesta Saturday night, 69-61. The win gives the Vaqueros a 4-3 conference record and a season sweep against Cuesta, winning both at home and away.
"Everyone played their role so well. Great team win," head coach Sandrine Krul said. "It was a game of 40 minutes, back-and-forth, back-and-forth."
That rang true in the first half, especially. The Vaqueros held Cuesta to just 8 points in the first quarter, finishing the frame with an 18-8 lead. However, Cuesta would then hold SBCC to just 10 points in the second quarter. The halftime score would be 28-25 Vaqueros.
Out of the break, the Vaqueros leaned on Paityn Persson, who would eventually finish the night with her 5th double-double of the year (13 points, 10 rebounds, team-leading 5 assists). Scoring 21 in the third quarter, SBCC padded their lead a tad, up 49-41 going to the fourth.
Both teams would score exactly 20 points in the last period, showcasing how competitive of a matchup this was. The math results in a 69-61 Vaqueros victory.
"One of the best parts of the game was just two teams competing at a high level. Cuesta is a really good team," Krul continued. "We did not fatigue at all for 40 minutes, that was a big key."
Lily Mires scored double digits points for her third consecutive game, leading the team with 15. She also grabbed 5 rebounds, tied for second on the night with Kaylee Bosetti.
Grace Caraballo provided 9 points and 3 rebounds, making the Vaqueros only 3-pointer of the night. Kiani Rojas was a great contributor off the bench (11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals), along with Eva Carrejo (4 assists) and Evette Allen (8 points).
Yes, you read that sentence right—the Vaqueros only made one 3-pointer on the night, and still won the game! They made up for that by shooting relatively well overall (45%) and getting to the free throw line a considerable amount (21 attempts). SBCC's 21 turnovers is their second highest number in a win, only below the 23 they had in a win over MiraCosta in early January.
Next up for the Vaqueros is a home matchup against top-seeded Moorpark (7-0) on Wednesday night at 7:00 PM, a rematch of the 67-52 away loss a few weeks ago.
