Point guard Jake Kelly poured in a career-best 31 points on Thursday afternoon but it wasn’t enough for the SBCC women’s basketball team, which dropped a 74-72 decision to No. 5 Fresno City in the opening round of the Sequoias Tournament.
The 19th-ranked Vaqueros fell to 3-4.
“We played awesome against the fifth-ranked team,” said coach Sandrine Krul, whose club has dropped three straight, including the last two by three points. “It came down to officiating. In the last 40 seconds, we were down by three and their player stepped out of bounds and they called a foul on us. She missed the free throws and Jake gets hammered at the other end and nothing was called.
“It was like a playoff game. I loved our effort.”
Kelly, a transfer from Pacific who just finished playing for the 21-3 Vaquero volleyball team, had 31 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals. She hit 13-of-23 field goals and scored 20 second-half points as SBCC rallied from a 36-29 halftime deficit.
Frannie DeAngelis had 14 points, four rebounds and three assists while Mara Lux contributed nine points and 13 rebounds.
The Vaqueros return to action at 8 p.m. Friday against No. 8 Antelope Valley or Porterville.
