SBCC played solid basketball for 36 minutes on Friday but Sacramento City used a 13-4 game-ending run to overtake the Vaqueros 71-68 on the second day of the Gilcrest Women’s Basketball Invitational in Visalia.
Mhiah Vickers scored 21 on 9-12 shooting for Santa Barbara (4-3), which led 38-31 at halftime and 58-50 with four minutes to play. The Vaqueros were eliminated from the 16-team tourney while Sacramento (4-2) moved into the consolation semifinals.
“We played very well for 36 minutes but we’re so young at certain positions and we started taking quick shots,” said coach Sandrine Krul. “That hurt and we also hurt ourselves by making 7-21 on free throws. We’re killing ourselves from the line.”
Elia Salazar added 12 points, six rebounds and three steals for SBCC.
The Panthers outshot the Vaqueros 63 to 48 percent but Santa Barbara enjoyed a 21-3 advantage from the 3-point line, making 7-24 while Sacramento was 1-4. The Panthers were plus-11 at the free-throw line where they hit 18-37.
