Bench provides boost in 66-49 triumph

SBCC jumped ahead 18-3 in the opening minutes and never looked back on Thursday afternoon in a 66-49 women's basketball victory over Reedley at the Hancock Bulldog Classic in Santa Maria.

The Vaqueros (5-3) outshot the Tigers 45 to 22.2 percent in the opening half when they built a 40-18 lead. Eboni Surgick topped Reedley (0-9) with 13 points.

Santa Barbara's bench came up big, outscoring the Tigers' bench 43-22 thanks to a team-high 10 points from Tatum Maciel and eight by Victoria Jackson. Fifteen Vaqueros played and 14 got in the scorebook.

Jasmine Mata, Mhiah Vickers and Courtney Houston added seven apiece for SBCC,, which shot 40 percent and enjoyed a 41-20 advantage on the boards.

"It was a nice win and I love seeing great balance in our scoring," said coach Sandrine Krul. "We're stronger when move Mhiah to the 1 (point guard). She can distribute the ball all over the court."

Elia Salazar had six points and eight boards and Darla Morales contributed six points and five rebounds.

The Vaqueros will battle WSC North rival Cuesta on Friday at 5 p.m. in a championship semifinal. The Cougars (9-0), ranked 12^th in the state, are the only unbeaten team in the Southern California.