SANTA BARBARA, CA – The Santa Barbara City College Women's Basketball team started conference play 1-0, beating Cuesta at home Wednesday night in an extremely competitive affair.
"We learned a lot in the non-conference season and played a very tough non-conference schedule because everyone in our conference is good," head coach Sandrine Krul said. "It was a great team win."
Nothing could separate the two teams in the first half, as both traded points to a 26-26 halftime score. For perspective, SBCC's 7-2 first quarter lead—less than 2 minutes into the game—was the largest lead for either team in the first half.
Out of the break, Cuesta took a 37-31 lead before a Vaqueros timeout. Whatever Krul said worked, as the Vaqueros followed with a 9-0 run. At the end of the third quarter, the Vaqueros were up 42-40.
Four different Vaqueros hit shots early in the fourth quarter, allowing them to take a 51-42 lead. Cuesta shrunk SBCC's lead to 4 with 3:30 remaining, but Kiani Rojas and Lily Mires iced the game with a three apiece, both assisted by Leila Chisholm. The Vaqueros would exhale to a 63-57 victory from there.
"I am proud of this team playing very hard against Cuesta's high-octane offense with their #5 [Reese Pasternik, 16 points] and #13 [Abigail Lacy, 29 points]," Krul said. "We knew they would be instant offense, so our goal was to limit everyone else. Our defense was very good in the second half."
9 of Leila Chisholm's team-leading 11 assists came in the second half. She also led the team in steals with 4.
A handful of those assists were dished to Lily Mires, who led the team with 15 points. Her line also included 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. Mires and Chisholm connection goes back to Dos Pueblos High School, and well before that, too.
"Leila and I have been playing together since first grade," Mires said. "We really found our connection on the court at Dos Pueblos, which transferred to this team and allowed us to seamlessly play off each other tonight. The DPHS Girls' Basketball team was there supporting us, which made the win that much more special."
Chisholm echoed the importance of chemistry, too: "Lily joined us this year and I couldn't be more excited to be playing with her again. We had a lot of success playing together in the past and I know I can count on her on the court. She's a great player who's a big asset to our team."
Kaylee Bosetti also had a productive night with 10 points and 8 rebounds, tying for the team lead. Kiani Rojas scored 11, and Paityn Persson led the bench with 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.
SBCC had 22 assists as a team, tying their season high. Now winners of 3 of their last 4, the Vaqueros continue to build at the right time.
"The special part of this team is that when one player isn't playing well, we have a deep bench who will come in and have her teammate's back," Krul concluded. "This a very coachable team 1 through 13!"
The Vaqueros travel to Moorpark for their next conference game, scheduled for this Saturday at 3:00 PM.
