With two starters in street clothes, No. 20 SBCC gave top-ranked Mt. San Antonio all it could handle on Saturday night before dropping a 77-65 non-conference women’s basketball game in the Sports Pavilion.
Frannie DeAngelis hit 7-of-10 from the field in the second half and scored all 18 of her points but it wasn’t enough for the Vaqueros, who fell to 3-2. Ashley Adams tallied 12 of her 18 points in the first half when the Mounties (4-0) took advantage of 18 SBCC turnovers to build a 34-27 lead.
“We held out Jake Kelly because she has a volleyball playoff game on Tuesday,” said coach Sandrine Krul. “She played 33 minutes in our last game at Bakersfield and we don’t want to burn her out. Mara Lux has had two hip surgeries in the last 18 months and she got beat up in Bakersfield. We don’t want to risk injuries early in the year.”
Giovanna Aplin scored 12 points and was one of four Vaqueros who fouled out, including DeAngelis with 3:43 to play.
SBCC tied the game at 26 on two free throws apiece by Hannah Cooper and Jennifer Stevens before the visitors ended the half on an 8-1 run. Mt. SAC used a 10-0 burst to stretch the margin to 46-33 with 16 minutes to go and led by 14 before the Vaqueros rallied.
SBCC got within five, 66-61, with 5:09 to play on a 3-pointer by DeAngelis, a steal and short bank by DeAngelis and a free throw by Aplin. Mt. SAC regained control with a layup and two free throws by Adams.
“We got to 66-61 and then turned the ball over five times,” said Krul. “Mt. SAC is going to capitalize every time you make a mistake, that’s why they’re good. If you want to get better, you want to play the great teams.”
The Mounties, who won state titles in 2006 and ’07, shot 46.6 percent but commited 35 turnovers. SBCC made 38.1 percent with 31 turnovers.
“We were horrible, you can’t turn the ball over 35 times and expect to have any continuity or be able to execute anything,” said Mountie coach Laura Beeman. “Partially, it was what they did. Absolutely. Partially, it was our fourth game of the season and we’re young and we have to correct some things.
“If you put those two starters in there, Santa Barbara is scary good. And that No. 33 (DeAngelis) is one of the best guards in the state. She’s tough to guard.”
SBCC travels to Santa Monica on Dec. 1. The Vaqueros don’t have another home game until next year — they’ll open WSC North play on Jan. 6 against Moorpark.
