Santa Barbara Falls to Moorpark in WSC Opener
By: Aj Nagbe
MOORPARK, Calif. — The Vaqueros dropped their Western State Conference opener 79-49 to Moorpark on Wednesday night at Raider Pavilion, as cold shooting after the first quarter derailed an encouraging start.
Ajulene Rivera led Santa Barbara with 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting, including three 3-pointers.
Khaya Jackson and Amarisse Camargo each added seven points, but the Vaqueros struggled to find an offensive rhythm, shooting just 27.7% from the field and 20% from three-point range.
SBCC took 65 shots compared to Moorpark's 60 but couldn't convert, finishing 18-of-65 from the floor.
Santa Barbara came out strong, trailing by just one point after the first quarter at 14-13.
However, Moorpark took control in the second quarter, outscoring the Vaqueros 25-10 to build a 42-24 halftime lead.
The Raiders continued to pull away in the second half, outscoring SBCC 37-25 over the final two quarters.
Coach Sandrine Krul highlighted the positives despite the lopsided loss to one of the top teams in the state.
"I'm really proud of our whole team. They kept fighting and kept playing hard," she said. "For 10 minutes, our running game was awesome, and then Moorpark forced us into a half-court game. That's when our shots weren't falling. But we're resilient, and we're going to be just fine."
She also noted several encouraging signs, including the bench production and ball security.
"Everyone got in, and we're playing one of the top teams in the conference. Our bench outscored their bench, which is a big positive," Krul said. "We didn't turn the ball over even though they were pressing, so that is a big, big positive."
Looking ahead, Krul framed the loss as a learning opportunity.
"It's not about losing, it's about what you can learn so we can start trending up," she said. "We will be fine. It's about sustaining and getting back to what we do, our two-and-two. We will turn this around and prepare for Oxnard."
Santa Barbara (11-6, 0-1) looks to bounce back and earn its first conference win when it travels to Oxnard on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 3 p.m.