Rojas Scores 31 as Vaqueros Punch Playoff Ticket in Record-Setting 103-43 Win
By Jimmy Friery
SANTA BARBARA, CA – The Santa Barbara City College Women's Basketball team won their final game of the regular season on Friday night, a 103-43 rout of Oxnard. The Vaqueros finish with a conference record of 6-6 and punched their ticket to the SoCal Regionals.
It was also sophomore night, and a pregame ceremony celebrated Kiani Rojas, Leila Chisholm, Eva Carrejo, Grace Caraballo, Jasmine Gilbert, Lily Mires, and Paityn Persson for their contributions to the program.
The game was a rematch of the Vaqueros' 89-62 win at Oxnard in late January, which was head coach Sandrine Krul's 300th career win at SBCC.
After starting the game with an 8-0 run, the Vaqueros were up 13-5 just over 3 minutes in. A poor shooting stretch resulted in them scoring just 2 points over the final 6:42 of the quarter, though, and the score at the first horn was 15-11.
The Vaqueros would not let that happen again, however. SBCC outscored Oxnard 27-15 in the second quarter, pulling away to a comfortable 42-26 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, they left no doubt, outscoring Oxnard by a massive margin, 33-7. Kiani Rojas had 13 points in the quarter, alone, making all 3 of her three-point attempts and shooting 5 for 7 from the floor.
By the fourth quarter, the score was already decided. The Vaqueros had a blast running different plays to give everyone on the team good looks, especially the sophomores. After the 28-10 quarter, SBCC eclipsed 100 points to the tune of a 103-43 victory.
The 103 points could be the most in program history, at least dating back to the existence of website records (2012-13). The Vaqueros have only scored 100 points one other time, a 100-83 win over Bakersfield on November 19, 2013.
San Marcos graduate Kiani Rojas had a career night in her final home game, passing the 30-mark by scoring 31 points. It was no fluke, either, as she made 7 of 13 (54%) three-pointers and shot 11 for 21 (52%) from the field. Rojas also grabbed 8 rebounds, dished 3 assists, and had 3 steals.
Rojas went to the bench with 6 minutes remaining at 26 points, but was subbed back in a few minutes later.
"The coolest part is the team wanted her to hit her career high and asked the coaching staff to please put her back in," Krul said.
Rojas made 2 free throws after being fouled and then drained a three, breaking 30 for herself and putting the Vaqueros at 103 on the night.
Lily Mires had 12 points off the bench, including 6 rebounds and 3 steals. Paityn Persson also had double digit points with 10, and was all over the statsheet with 9 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 4 steals.
Kaylee Bosetti led the team in assists with 9, also grabbing 6 rebounds and scoring 7 points. Leila Chisholm was second with 7 assists, pulling down 5 rebounds and scoring 5 points. Grace Caraballo had 9 points, 4 steals, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.
The Vaqueros also had a unique team stat—every Vaquero scored on the night. Eva Carrejo (7 points), Kylee Garcia (5), Jasmine Gilbert (3), Jaden Bone (4), Evette Allen (6), and Lilly Losak (5) all made at least 1 bucket, and all had either multiple rebounds or multiple assists.
"We had the right attitude for this end of season game and heading into the postseason," Krul concluded. "We will take our MTXE to Imperial Valley."
The Vaqueros were selected for postseason play on Sunday afternoon, drawing the 22 seed in the SoCal Regionals. They will head to 11-seed Imperial Valley on Wednesday, time TBD.
