Jasmine Johnson scored a season-high 16 points and grabbed six rebounds on Wednesday as SBCC used a fast start to take care of Hancock 57-37 in a WSC North women’s basketball game at the Sports Pavilion.
Johnson, a left-handed sophomore guard from Calabasas High, hit 7-of-11 from the field. She nailed four medium-range jumpers in the first 10 minutes as the Vaqueros (11-13, 5-4) jumped ahead 20-4 in the Coaches vs. Cancer game, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.
“We’ve been working on shooting a lot in practice and it’s really showed up on the court,” said Johnson. “I want to do well because it’s the end of the year and I want to go play at the next level. You have to step it up at some point.”
The Vaqueros enjoyed a 30-11 halftime lead after forcing the Bulldogs (5-19, 1-9) into 20 turnovers. Johnson opened the game with a steal and a 10-foot jumper and capped a 7-0 run to end the half with a short pull-up on the fast break.
Camille Zumbro, the leading scorer in the state, scored 16 of her game-high 21 points in the second half for Hancock.
“We played well as a team,“ said SBCC coach Sandrine Krul. “We have 11 players and everyone played tonight.”
Keia Nobles had 11 points, nine rebounds and four steals and Mercedes Gonzalez chipped in with eight points and eight boards. The Vaqueros dominated the backboards, 54-32, and had 25 offensive rebounds, led by Nobles with five.
Katie Grande had seven rebounds off the bench and Shannon Abdulla handed out five assists. The Vaqueros collected 18 steals and forced 34 turnovers.
“Our defense was so good in the first half and we were helping each other, then we stopped doing that in the second half,” said Krul. “Jasmine played great. She’s improved a lot this year.
“We can still make the playoffs. We have to do well our last three games and we need a little help.”
The Vaqueros travel to second-place Moorpark on Saturday for a 5 p.m. game.
