Morales leads Vaqueros to third in AVC Tourney

Darla Morales scored 16 points in 13 minutes off the bench and SBCC rallied past Antelope Valley 69-65 on Saturday afternoon to take third place in the AVC Holiday Women's Basketball Tournament.

The Vaqueros (7-6) trailed by as many as 11 late in the first half and were down 36-28 at halftime.

Elia Salazar contributed 15 points and eight rebounds, including six offensive. The Vaqueros won the board battle 37-35 and had more offensive rebounds (19) than defensive (18).

Ashley Hurt hit 2-3 from long range and scored 10 points to earn all-tournament honors. Lisa Henderson had six points and six rebounds.

SBCC opened the second half on a 12-4 run to tie the game at 40. Darla Morales had a near-perfect shooting night, making 5-6 field goals, 2-2 on 3-pointers and 4-4 free throws. Her 3-pointer gave the Vaqueros a 60-55 lead with 3:35 to play.

"Tonight was all about MTXE (Mental Toughness Extra Effort)," said SBCC coach Sandrine Krul. "We were down 11 in the first half and we never stopped playing with mental toughness.

 "We took third place in a very competitive tournament."

Ty Flores topped the Marauders (4-10) with 22 points and eight rebounds.

The Vaqueros will host Rio Hondo on Saturday at 5 p.m. in their final nonconference game and the last game of 2013.