Vaqueros ride Energy Bus to 70-67 comeback win

Destinee King collected 23 points and 18 rebounds on Wednesday night and SBCC overcame a 23-1 run by Oxnard to edge the Condors 70-67 in a WSC North women's basketball game at the Sports Pavilion.

King hit 9-23 from the field and 5-10 from the free-throw line. She also had six assists and blocked four shots. The 5-10 freshman from Antelope, Calif., leads the WSC North in scoring (18.2) and rebounding (11.7). She's No. 15 on the state scoring chart and No. 10 in rebounds.

Kesler Johnson added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Vaqueros (14-11, 5-4), who are third in conference, one game behind second-place Oxnard (13-8, 6-3) with three to play.

The Vaqueros led 20-13 after one quarter and went up by 10 (35-25) on a layup by Victoria Fortin with 3:01 to go in the first half. The Condors ended the second period on an 8-1 run and opened the third quarter on a 15-0 spurt for their 23-1 streak. They took their biggest lead of 12 points at 48-36 on a free-throw line jumper by Karrie Franklin.

Then the Vaqueros hopped on the Energy Bus.

"Our philosophy is to always play hard because that makes up for so many mistakes," said coach Sandrine Krul. "This was a great team win. Christina Mattis came up with the Energy Bus (which she learned in a motivational class that Krul teaches). If you're not on the Energy Bus, then you're an energy vampire.

"Our players bought into that analogy and every time we made a defensive play, especially in the fourth quarter, it fueled our MTXE (Mental Toughness Extra Effort) and our Energy Bus."

Mattis, who had four points and a season-high six assists, was heard throughout the gym exhorting her teammates during a key third-quarter timeout. The Vaqueros recorded assists on 23 of their 28 baskets.

The Vaqueros ended the third quarter on an 11-4 run and pulled within five, 52-47, on a 12-footer by Johnson with 12 seconds to go. They opened the fourth on a 7-2 spurt and took a 55-54 lead on two free throws by King.

There were four ties after that before King powered in a layup and made the free throw for a 67-64 advantage with 2:44 to go. Juliette Marquez tied it again with a 3 for the Condors.

Jocelin Petatan (11 points, four rebounds, four assists) made a sharp pass to Johnson for a layin with 18.4 seconds left to give the Vaqueros a 69-67 lead. SBCC blocked a shot and after King missed two free throws, Nalei'a Brackett  stole the ball from Richell Bequilla in the backcourt and was fouled with 2.9 seconds.

Brackett made one of two free throws and King stole the ball near the 3-point line to secure the comeback win.

The Vaqueros will host Moorpark on Saturday at 5 p.m.