By Jimmy Friery
Paityn Persson was named 1st Team All-Conference and Leila Chisholm was selected as Honorable Mention in the WSC-North's 2023-24 individual honors. Chisholm and 9 of her teammates from last season—including Eva Carrejo—were also nominated for 2023's Academic All-State Team.
Paityn Persson was a lock to represent the Vaqueros in the WSC's end-of-season awards, a season that resulted in the program's first playoff win in over a decade. Guiding SBCC down the stretch, she scored double-digit points in all of her last 8 games played, entirely against conference and postseason opponents. Her rebound totals in her last 6 conference games were 12, 10, 10, 9, 16, and 9. Naturally, Persson nearly averaged a double-double on the year with 12.7 points per game and 8.8 rebounds per game. She achieved the feat 7 times, including 3 with more than 20 points (Santa Ana, MiraCosta, and Oxnard). Scoring and rebounding were not the only part of her game—she was great defensively, second on the team in steals per game with 2.1, and led the conference by a mile with 63 blocks (2.5 per game).
Leila Chisholm earned Honorable Mention averaging 7.1 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game, and leading the team with 4.4 assists per game. The dependable sophomore also led the team in minutes and field goal percentage, shooting 46.1 on the year. She played all 40 minutes in both of the Vaqueros' playoff games, including 13 points and 7 assists in SBCC's first round win at Imperial Valley. She was crucial in single-digit wins over Antelope Valley, Cuesta, and Pierce, with 18 points and 9 assists, 11 assists and 4 steals, and 17 points and 6 assists, respectively. Chisholm was also great defensively, leading the team in steals with 2.3 per game—her 66 steals on the season are good for second of all conference players.
Along with WSC honors, academic awards also were announced for the 2022-23 season. Chisholm, along with Lydia Howard, Isabella Favazzo, Aislinn McKelvey, Brianna Jacobs, Janet Arias-Gonzalez, Luana Moreira, Natalie Bautista, Isabella Jensen Williams, and Eva Carrejo all made the Academic All-State team. The Vaqueros' 10 representatives are the second most of all teams in California. There will be no shortage of academic honors for this year's squad either, with a combined team GPA above 3.7.
