By Jimmy Friery
SANTA BARBARA, CA – The Santa Barbara City College Women's Basketball team lost at home to #23 Ventura (9-2) on Saturday night, 60-51.
"We played a great first half and the second half we did not match the will to win," head coach Sandrine Krul said.
The Vaqueros did have a phenomenal first half, ending the first quarter with a 16-6 lead that ballooned to 30-14 at halftime. Ventura scored under 10 points in both the first and second quarters, shooting a shocking 3 for 28 (11%) in the first half. The Vaqueros forced 16 turnovers in the first half, as well.
Out of halftime, Ventura's offense quickly found a rhythm, scoring 9 points in the first 2 minutes. With just under 5 minutes remaining in the quarter, a three-pointer diminished the Vaqueros lead to just 32-30, and Ventura's first half woes were well behind them. By the end of the quarter, Ventura held a 1-point lead at 37-36.
SBCC was outscored 23-6 in the third quarter, a striking inverse version of the first and second quarters. The Vaqueros committed 10 turnovers, meanwhile Ventura hit 3 threes and made 9 buckets overall. Ventura had 11 rebounds to the Vaqueros 3.
Despite the dramatic swing in momentum, the Vaqueros were down only 1 at the start of the fourth frame, poised for an upset. After each team grinded out points to 47-42, Ventura went on a 9-0 run to all but ice the game at 56-42 with 2 minutes remaining. The Vaqueros scored some late points but the deficit was too much to overcome, resulting in the 60-51 final.
Paityn Persson once again led the Vaqueros statistically with 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks, despite committing 10 turnovers. Kiani Rojas provided a spark off the bench with 14 points.
Kaylee Bosetti had a solid 6 points, 6 rebounds, and a massive 8 steals. Leila Chisholm was also well-rounded with 4 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists (team lead), and 4 steals. Lily Mires had 8 rebounds and 4 assists to go along with her 5 points.
Evidenced by both teams having cold quarters, each team had an abundance of turnovers, with Ventura's 25 to SBCC's 28. The Vaqueros shot better overall (37% to 34%), but only shot 13% (2 for 15) from three. Thanks to Persson and Rojas, the Vaqueros had more points in the paint and bench points. Yet, they were outrebounded 44 to 36.
"Onward and upward to Hancock and we're still in playoff contention," Krul concluded.
The Vaqueros (5-5) close out the regular season away at Hancock (7-3) Wednesday night before finishing at home Friday night against Oxnard (0-10).
