No. 6 Fresno tops Vaqueros in West Hills final, 78-53

Fresno City jumped out to a 22-4 lead on Saturday afternoon en route to a 78-53 women's basketball victory and the championship of the West Hills Tournament.

The Rams, ranked No. 6 in California, led 41-20 at the half and improved to 11-3. The Vaqueros (7-5) shot just 22 percent in the first half and went 0-10 on 3-pointers. Fresno won the third quarter 28-16 and carried a 33-point lead into the final period.

"We couldn't get our shots to fall," said coach Sandrine Krul. "We broke their hectic full-court press but then we rushed our shots. There were so many missed layups."

The bench came on strong on a day when the starters struggled. The Vaquero starters scored just 17 points on 7-for-28 shooting (25%) while the bench produced 36 points on 15-30 shooting (50%).

Jennae Mayberry led the Vaqueros with season highs of 12 points and seven rebounds. Lauren Noggle had 10 points and seven rebounds and Meagan Moore pitched in with nine points. Diamond Alexander had eight points and six rebounds. Mayberry and Moore earned all-tournament honors.

Aaliyah Pauling, SBCC's top scorer at 13.0 per game, went 0-2 and didn't score. She did have seven assists and five rebounds.

The Rams outshot the Vaqueros 45.8 to 37.9 percent and outscored them from the 3-point line 27-0. Fresno was 9-25 on 3's while the Vaqueros didn't try one in the second half and finished 0-10.

Santa Barbara won the rebound battle 46-38 but committed 29 turnovers.

"Our bench really stepped up tonight," said Krul. "I'm very proud of them because they were down 35 (late in the third quarter) and they outscored Fresno by 10 the rest of the way.

"I'm proud of our team. As they know, you're never as good as you think you are when you win and you're never as bad as you think you are when you lose."

The Vaqueros will play in the Cuesta Pre New Year's Eve Kickoff Classic on Dec. 28-30. They'll take on No. 13 Chabot on Thursday at 6 p.m.