SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – A tenacious start for the SBCC women's basketball team set the tone as the Vaqueros took a 64-49 win in their home season-opener against Ohlone on Friday afternoon at the Sports Pavilion.
In the first of three games hosting the 2021 MTXE Tournament, Santa Barbara (1-1) dominated the rebound battle all day, more than doubling the Renegades 63-to-31. The Vaqueros were especially aggressive on the offensive glass, where they reeled in a staggering 35 offensive boards – four more than Ohlone's entire rebound total.
Guard/Forward Trinity Scott led the team with eight offensive and 13 total rebounds to go along with 10 points, securing SBCC's first double-double of the year. Forward Asia Kirven added seven boards of her own while leading the home side with 17 points. She also had her team's most efficient shooting night going 7-for-12 (58.3%) from the field.
"Great team win," head coach Sandrine Krul said. "I'm impressed with how we bounced back from losing a heartbreaker on Tuesday and came out with such tenacity today."
On the first possession of the game, SBCC's Katrina Regalado found a wide open Isabella Jensen Williams who swished her three from the left corner. The Vaqueros never looked back from there, jumping out to a 16-2 lead less than seven minutes in. Their aggressive defense forced 18 first half turnovers, seeing their lead grow to as high as 23 points before halftime.
Coming out of the break, Kirven and Regalado combined to score 10 unanswered, giving SBCC its largest lead of the day at 49-19. Regalado was one of four Vaqueros who finished with three steals. She also went for 11 points (4-10 FG), four rebounds and three assists in a strong all-around performance.
The Vaquero defense forced 12 turnovers in the third quarter alone and 31 for the game. They also added five blocks, two of which came from guard/forward Sela Dowell.
Jensen Williams finished with eight points, eight rebounds, four assists and three takeaways. Berlin Faiaipau and Lia Rodriguez added six and five points off the bench, respectively.
"It's always a great victory when all players contribute in terms of scoring, defending and rebounding. We did really well on the boards, and when everyone plays… that's SBCC basketball," Krul said. "We will take that MTXE mentality into tomorrow's game vs. Butte."
Staying active and attacking the glass has been the story so far this season for the Vaqueros, who reeled in nearly two-thirds of their missed shots on Friday to record their highest offensive rebound total in at least nine years. They are averaging an outstanding 31 offensive boards per game through two contests.
Tomorrow, SBCC returns to action in a 6:00 p.m. meeting against Butte, which fell to Canyons 68-63 in its MTXE Tournament opener.
