Jennifer Jimenez scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds on Friday afternoon as SBCC topped Sequoias 57-55 for its first women’s basketball win of the season.
Elia Salazar produced 13 points off the bench on 4-5 shooting, Leslie Steele had 10 points and Jaz Johnson collected nine rebounds. The Vaqueros (1-1) led 27-23 at halftime of the nonconference game in Visalia.
Salazar made a layup with 4.4 seconds left on an assist from Sara Crane, putting the Vaqueros ahead 57-55. Sara Crane and Alexis McCord deflected passes on the final possession, preventing a shot by Sequoias.
Jimenez, a sophomore from Bishop Diego High, had four assists, two steals and took a pair of charges. Crane contributed five points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
“Our post players came up big defensively against a 6-foot-2 girl who had 18 points and 19 rebounds the night before,” said coach Sandrine Krul. “She only got 10 today.
“Elia, Sara and Lex McCord made key plays off the bench.”
The Vaqueros led by five points with five minutes left, then fell behind by three.
“We were in the same exact situation we were on Thursday (when they lost 60-59 at Reedley) but this time, we didn’t lose our cool,” said Krul. “We executed down the stretch.”
SBCC shot 48 percent in the second half and held the Giants to 28.8 percent for the game (17-59).
Santa Barbara hosts its own eight-team MTXE Tournament on Nov. 17-19. The Vaqueros open against Santa Ana on Thursday at 7 p.m.
