Vaquero defense is too much for Copper Mountain, 67-22

SBCC's defense held Copper Mountain to single digits in all four quarters on Saturday in a 67-22 women's basketball rout at the Victor Valley Crossover.

Maaria Jaakkola, a 5-8 freshman from Finland, led a balanced Vaquero attack with season highs of 14 points, seven rebounds (six offensive) and five steals. Holly Barrera, a teammate of Jaakkola's at Dos Pueblos High, added 13 points (on 6-9 shooting) and six rebounds. Jaakkola played 20 minutes off the bench and Barrera had a team-high 25 minutes as the reserves scored a season-best 47 points.

Diamond Alexander tallied 11 points, five rebounds and three steals.

SBCC (2-3) outscored the Fighting Cacti 41-6 in the middle two quarters. The Vaqueros led 38-12 at the half and 59-13 after a 21-1 third-quarter run. This is the first season of competition for Copper Mountain (0-6), a school in Joshua Tree, Calif.

"Our pressing team did very well today and that's how we went on scoring runs," said coach Sandrine Krul.

Sophia Torres, a 6-foot freshman from Santa Barbara High, had six points, nine rebounds and four of her team's 25 steals. Lei-Helani Talaro was the assist leader with six.

The Vaqueros won the shooting battle, 42 to 24 percent. They closed the second quarter on a 14-0 run and scored the first 10 points of the third for a 24-0 burst. A bucket by Lauren Noggle stretched the lead to 36 points, 48-12, with 6:38 to go in the third period.

SBCC will play Imperial Valley on Sunday at noon on the final day of the Victor Valley Crossover in Victorville.