Vickers scores 16 in 73-68 win over Pierce

SBCC took control with a 24-8 run in the last 10 minutes of the first half on Saturday night, then held off a late rally to beat L.A. Pierce 73-68 in its women's basketball season finale at the Sports Pavilion.

Mhiah Vickers led the Vaqueros (11-15, 3-9 WSC North) with 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists. She was one of six sophomores making their final appearance for the Vaqueros.

Sheryl Scheppele tied her season high with 11 points on 3-7 shooting from 3-point range and Jessica Valadez tallied nine points with perfect 3-3 shooting from long range.

Sophomore forward Elia Salazar added six points and 10 rebounds and Lisa Henderson produced eight points in seven minutes off the bench.

The Vaqueros were outshot 51.7 to 40.3 percent but they hit 8-18 from 3-point country and dominated the boards 51-34.

"Even though we didn't make the playoffs, we ended with two conference wins," said coach Sandrine Krul. "I'm so proud of how everybody played, especially Sheryl coming off the bench."

Monica Jackson, the No. 4 scorer in the state, had 29 points for the Brahmas (15-14, 3-9). She scored six straight points and Breana Callahan added a follow shot to give Pierce a 21-12 lead with 10:21 to go in the first half.

The Vaqueros went on their 24-8 run to grab a 36-29 edge at intermission. Pierce lost Joi Beard to injury in the last minute of the first half and played the second half with five players.

"We started taking better shots when we made our comeback," said Krul. "Pierce is an athletic team and we kept after them all night.

"This group was amazing. I always say you're not validated by wins and losses. We hit some rough patches and this team kept playing hard. We played hard the last two games and I'm really going to miss these sophomores."