Dulay sparks Vaqueros to first win, 75-72

Stella Dulay scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds on Saturday night as SBCC edged San Diego 75-72 for its first women's basketball win of the season.

Dulay, a 5-6 freshman from Santa Maria, hit 8-of-11 from the field and scored 13 in the first half on the second day of the SBCC Crossover. The Vaqueros (1-2) fell behind 16-8 in the opening minutes and trailed 36-30 at intermission.

It was a big night for the Vaquero reserves as three players outscored the starters 48-27. Dulay scored her 20 points in 23 minutes.

"We played really well," said coach Sandrine Krul. "I like this trend of different players stepping up each game."

Alyssa Cosio, a freshman from Santa Barbara High, scored 13 of her 16 in the second half and also had seven rebounds. Darla Morales tallied 12 points off the bench and twin sister Andrea Morales had nine points and six boards.

The Vaqueros trailed by eight (47-39) early in the second half, then went on a 20-4 run to take an eight-point lead of their own. Cosio nailed a 3-pointer and Andrea Morales added a bucket to cap the outburst and give SBCC a 59-51 lead with 9:41 to play.

Center Paige Nealy was in foul trouble throughout the game and finished with six points. Victoria Jackson had six of the Vaqueros' 20 assists.

The Knights (0-2) got within a basket, 73-71, with 39 seconds left. Darla Morales answered with a bucket at the 9-second mark to secure the win.

"I'm so proud of our team," said Krul. "We really played well together."

The Vaqueros will host the MTXE Tournament on Nov. 20-22, opening against Solano on Thursday at 8 p.m. SBCC's games during the tournament, and all season long, will be live streamed on the Vaquero Broadcasting Network with Ryan Graff on the call.