Vaquero rally comes up short in second round

SBCC gave No. 2-ranked San Bernardino Valley all it could handle on Saturday night before dropping a 51-46 women’s basketball decision in the second round of the Southern Cal Regional at San Bernardino.

Despite shooting just 23 percent (16-71) and getting outrebounded 65-42, the Vaqueros (21-11) rallied from a 26-19 halftime deficit and led 41-40 with two minutes to play.

“It was a great defensive game,” said Vaquero coach Sandrine Krul. “Nobody watching would have known we were a No. 15 seed.”

Nanice Kollee led SBCC with 16 points and four assists off the bench. Brooke Berry had six points, eight rebounds and four steals while Janelle Wong contributed six points and six rebounds.

The Vaquero starters made just 6-33 from the field (18.1 percent) and the team was 3-23 on 3-pointers.

Lyndsay Bergus, SBCC’s third-leading scorer, missed the game with an ankle injury.

Darshae Burnside, a 6-2 freshman, had 12 points, 26 rebounds and six blocks for the Wolverines (27-2), who had their own troubles shooting (27 percent). San Bernardino, which beat the Vaqueros 80-56 on Nov. 20, was held 20 points below its season average.

“I’m proud of this group,” said Krul, who’s led her team to six straight playoff appearances. “They did a great job of playing through adversity.”