Coach Sandrine Krul says its all about the system and her SBCC women’s basketball team proved that point on Friday afternoon as they rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to beat Porterville 68-61 in the first round of the Mission Tip-Off Tournament in Santa Clara.
Sophomore guard Imelda Bealer had 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists, eight steals and three blocks for the Vaqueros, who won their season opener after trailing 32-24 at intermission.
The Vaqueros went on a 13-0 run, fueled by four straight steals and two baskets from Bealer, to take a 51-47 lead with 4:15 to play.
Janelle Wong, a 5-10 guard/forward from Dos Pueblos High, had 18 points and 12 rebounds but missed all nine of her 3-point tries. SBCC won despite hitting just 28 percent of their shots (4-22 on treys) and committing 30 turnovers.
“We got into early foul trouble and JJ (Jennifer Jimenez) and Lyndsay Bergus did a great job off the bench,” said Krul. “We had some first-game jitters and that will happen with 14 freshmen.”
Nanice Kollee had 15 points, four rebounds and four assists while Brooke Armenta had 11 rebounds before fouling out with 11 minutes to play. Jimenez had five points and four rebounds and Bergus grabbed eight boards.
SBCC will face De Anza on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the semifinals of the eight-team tourney.
