Sandrine Krul didn’t hesitate when asked about the strengths of the 2013-14 SBCC women’s basketball team.
“Our depth, our running game, our shooting, we can go inside and out … and our press, even in the halfcourt, is going to be solid,” said Krul, who’s 171-108 in nine seasons as the Vaqueros’ head coach.
SBCC has made the Southern Cal Regional in seven of the last eight years.
The Vaqueros will play their first six at home, starting on Friday and Saturday with the SBCC Crossover. They’ll host San Diego City on Friday at 7 p.m. and Fullerton on Saturday at 5 p.m.
There are five returning sophomores – Mhiah Vickers (9.5 ppg last year), Courtney Houston, Jasmine Mata, Jessica Valadez and 5-11 post player Elia Salazar, who played two years ago. The sixth sophomore is sharpshooting guard Sheryl Scheppele, a transfer from the state of Washington.
“I feel great about our leadership,” said Krul. “They communicate well and they’re an extension of the coaching staff. This team plays from within and for each other. When I come in, I don’t have to get that fire going because they already have it.
“They remind me of the team that shared the conference title with Ventura in 2007.”
There are nine freshmen on the roster, led by twins Darla and Andrea Morales, a pair of 5-7 guards from Pacifica High in Oxnard. Other top newcomers are Ashley Hurt of Columbus, Ohio, who led her county in 3-point shooting; Tatum Maciel of Buena High; Victoria Jackson of Oxnard High and 5-3 guard Sylvia Hoover-Puter of Santa Barbara High.
“Tatum Maciel is a big one,” noted Krul.”It was between us and Ventura and she chose us,” noted Krul. “And her sister plays for Ventura.”
Jackson and Hoover-Puter, who goes by the nickname “Ooti,” are transfers from Ventura College.
“This team can literally go 14-deep in our rotation without a drop-off,” said Krul. “And we have many players who can play multiple positions. Our subs could be starters on a lot of other community college teams.”
The Vaqueros will host Bakersfield at 5 p.m. on Nov. 19, followed by their eight-team MTXE Tournament on Nov. 21-23, opening against L.A. Southwest on Nov. 21 at 8 p.m.
San Bernardino Valley, ranked No. 4 in the preseason, will be back to defend its MTXE title. The Wolverines beat SBCC in the MTXE final last year and knocked out the Vaqueros in the first round of the playoffs.
“We always like to play a tough nonconference schedule,” said Krul. “We opened 7-1 last year and we want to play the strongest teams. That’s how you get better.”
When asked who her best shooters are, Krul said she hoped that teams play zone against them and rattled off 10 names, including Scheppele, Hurt, Valadez, Mata, Andrea Morales, Jackson, Darla Morales and Vickers.
There’s a new rule this year that will benefit the Vaqueros’ pressing defense – 10 seconds is a backcourt violation.
“We’re going to run, press, play defense and run some more,” said Krul. “Our goal is to keep teams in the 50s consistently. On offense, we can score in the 80s.”
