SBCC took a big lead into the fourth quarter for the second straight day on Saturday but Porterville got hot and stormed past the Vaqueros 71-68 in a women’s basketball game at Hancock College.
The Vaqueros (0-2) led 38-23 at halftime and 56-43 after three quarters. The Pirates (1-1) won the final period 28-12 thanks to a 50 to 25-percent shooting advantage. SBCC commited eight turnovers in the last 10 minutes and Porterville had none.
Jocelin Petatan had 17 points and seven rebounds for the Vaqueros. She was a perfect 6-6 from the field and 5-5 from the free-throw line. Kay Phosakham added 12 points, Victoria Fortin had nine and Destinee King collected seven points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Vaqueros commited 38 turnovers and the Pirates had 21.
“We’re playing so well and so hard right now,” said coach Sandrine Krul. “I don’t want to say we’re making freshman mistakes but we do have 14 freshmen.
“We were two different teams in the first three quarters and the last quarter. We’ve got to learn how to play hard and execute for 40 minutes.”
SBCC will host a Crossover Tournament next weekend. The Vaqueros will play San Diego City on Friday at 7 p.m. and Fullerton on Saturday at 5 p.m.
