Janelle Wong ended the first half with eight straight points Thursday and SBCC went on to beat San Jose City 67-57 in the first round of the Tom Gilchrist women’s basketball tournament at Sequoias College in Visalia.
The Vaqueros (6-3), who led 39-29 at intermission, recorded 21 steals en route to their fifth win in six games.
Guard Nanice Kollee had a season-high 19 points and three steals. Wong finished with 10 points and Brooke Berry and Mercedes Gonzalez made big contributions off the bench with 12 and 11 rebounds, respectively, against a San Jose lineup that featured a pair of 6-2 players.
Berry, one of the smallest Vaqueros at 5-foot-5, grabbed eight offensive rebounds to go along with nine points and three steals. Nine of Gonzalez’s rebounds came at the offensive end, helping SBCC to a commanding 24-10 advantage.
After San Jose got within three at 52-49 with 3:32 to play, Kollee drained three straight 3-pointers to secure the win. She hit 4-of-7 from downtown for the Vaqueros, who were 9-29 from distance and held the Jaguars to 1-12.
Guard Imelda Bealer scored eight points with nine rebounds, six assists and five steals.
“This was another example of our system working to perfection,” said coach Sandrine Krul, whose team forced 29 turnovers.
The Vaqueros will take on WSC rival Ventura, ranked No. 10 in California, on Friday at 4 p.m. in the 16-team tourney.
