By Jimmy Friery
IMPERIAL, CA – The 22-seed Vaqueros Women's Basketball team won their road playoff game at 11-seed Imperial Valley on Wednesday night, 58-51.
This year is the third time in the last four seasons that SBCC qualified for the postseason. However, all the more special, Wednesday's SoCal Regionals first round win is the Vaqueros' first postseason victory since 2011.
"Such a great game," Sandrine Krul—winningest coach in SBCC history—said proudly. "We will continue our toughness and playing as a team."
The Vaqueros executed their game plan magnificently. After a Kiani Rojas three, Imperial Valley made a second chance layup. Paityn Persson responded with a layup to make it 5-4, and the Vaqueros would never relinquish the lead.
Persson's layup kickstarted a 7-0 run, and Kaylee Bosetti drained a three at the end of the quarter to give SBCC a 20-14 lead at the first horn. Persson tallied 10 of the team's 20 first quarter points.
The Vaqueros began the second quarter on another 7-0 run, ending with another Rojas three, increasing their early lead to 27-14. The cushion was short-lived, though, as Imperial Valley went on a 9-0 run of their own. Lily Mires ended it with a three, and Leila Chisholm hit another three after Grace Caraballo extended the possession with an offensive rebound—it was 33-23 SBCC with 3 minutes left in the first half. By halftime, Imperial Valley closed the gap a tad to a 35-31 score.
In the third frame, Chisholm made 2 threes in 2 minutes, and SBCC extended their lead to 45-34 midway through the quarter. Bosetti and Rojas then sank a three each for the red-hot Vaqueros, who were 10 minutes away from victory up 51-38. SBCC outscored Imperial Valley 16-7 in the third.
Things got a little dicey in the fourth, however. With 2 and a half minutes left, the Vaqueros only had scored 2 buckets in the quarter. The lead was trimmed to just 6 at 55-49, and a turnover gave Imperial Valley the ball back looking for more. That would be the closest the game would get, though, as the Vaqueros forced turnovers on the next 3 Imperial Valley possessions. Rojas was fouled with 30 seconds left, making the first free throw but missing the second. Bosetti grabbed an offensive rebound on the miss, was fouled, and sank both of her free throws, icing the game completely. A late bucket rounded out the score at 58-51.
306 miles away from home, the Vaqueros upset the 20-8 11-seed to extend their season.
Three-point shooting was the difference in the game, with the Vaqueros shooting 9 for 26 (35%) while holding Imperial Valley to a measly 2 for 18 (11%). SBCC was outrebounded 59-43, but won the turnover battle 19-26. Again, the Vaqueros led for the last 38 minutes of the game.
"I love seeing multiple players in double figures—that's sharing the ball," Krul said.
It was truly a team win, as 4 of the 5 Vaqueros starters finished with 10 or more points. Lily Mires was vital off the bench as always, with 9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block.
Kiani Rojas led the team in points (14) and steals (4), also grabbing 5 rebounds. Leila Chisholm had 13 points and 7 assists (team lead), while Paityn Persson had 12 points with 7 rebounds (team lead). Kaylee Bosetti had a versatile 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals.
"Onward and upward to Palomar," Krul concluded.
The Vaqueros advance to the SoCal Regionals semifinal at #6 Palomar (23-5), Saturday night at 7:00 PM.
