Cosio guides Vaqueros past Hancock in home finale

Alyssa Cosio poured in a season-high 19 points on Wednesday and SBCC topped Hancock for the second time this year, 61-53, on Sophomore Night at the Sports Pavilion.

Cosio, a 5-10 freshman from Santa Barbara High, hit 8-12 from the field and led the Vaqueros with seven rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench. Andrea Morales added 13 points and six rebounds while her twin sister, Darla Morales, had 11 points and five boards.

"It felt really good because it was Sophomore Night and everything was kind of vibing together," said Cosio, who hit 8-12 from the field and had a team-high seven rebounds. "We really played as a team tonight. When we went down, we always came back up. We empowered each other and made that extra pass to get to the open person."

The Vaqueros have won five of their last seven to improve to 10-16 overall and 5-6 in the WSC North. Nicole De La Guerra led the Bulldogs (11-16, 3-8) with 13 points and eight rebounds.

After trailing for most of the first half, the Vaqueros outscored the visitors from Santa Maria 13-4 in the last seven minutes and took a 32-29 lead at intermission on a 15-foot buzzer-beater by Darla Morales.

Hancock pulled within two at 46-44 on a layup by De La Guerra, then the Vaqueros took command with an 8-0 run, capped by a 14-foot bucket from Sylvia Hoover-Purter. That boosted the lead to 54-44 with 4:46 to play.

Mizhrua Bautista started the 8-0 burst with a follow shot, then Andrea Morales weaved through the defense for a layup. Cosio made another layup and Hoover-Purter drained a jumper on the break for the 10-point lead that was the largest of the game.

"It was our Sophomore Night, so we met during the day and thanked our sophomores for their service the last two years," explained 11th-year SBCC coach Sandrine Krul. "It was an emotional day and it took us a while to get going. When we had someone who wasn't playing well tonight, another player stepped up and that always makes me happy."

SBCC will play its final regular-season game on Saturday at L.A. Pierce with tip-off set for 5 p.m.