Fast start fuels Vaquero victory in last game of decade

SBCC was on fire from the start on Friday, building leads of 11-1 and 18-3 on the way to a 76-62 women's basketball win over Golden West in the El Camino Crossover. It was the Vaqueros' final game of 2019 and the last SBCC game of the decade.

Jordan Parkhurst scored 14 of her game-high 23 points in the opening quarter as the Vaqueros took a 23-8 lead that ballooned to 22 points (40-18) midway throught the second quarter on a jumper by Alyssa De Vries. Parkhurst, a 5-8 freshman guard from Dana Point, hit 7-11 from the field, 3-7 from 3-point country and 6-7 free throws. She also had five rebounds and four assists.

The Vaqueros won their sixth straight game to improve to 12-3. Roxie Aquino topped the Rustlers (1-8) with 14 points.

SBCC made 8-16 (50%) in the first quarter while GWC was struggling at 3-16 (18.8%). The Vaqueros dominated the rebounds, 54-30, and led 48-33 at halftime.

Alondra Jimenez had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists for Santa Barbara. Sophia Torres registered her seventh double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Jada Forsdick-Stevenson contributed seven points, six rebounds and six assists while De Vries scored a season-high eight points and grabbed five rebounds.

"Everyone played hard today and everyone contributed to our offensive and defensive philosophy," said coach Sandrine Krul. "In our three games this week, we had everyone buy into our philosophy and that's what makes coaching this team so special. Each player is coachable and gives us maximum effort."

The Vaqueros will be off for more than a month due to the fact that two WSC North teams dropped their programs for the 2019-20 campaign. The conference schedule was re-aligned and the Vaqueros will open on Jan. 25 at Ventura and play eight conference games instead of 12.

Krul said she's trying to schedule a few more non-conference games in January.