West Hills tops Vaqueros in opener, 71-57

SBCC built an eight-point lead in the third quarter of its women's basketball season opener on Friday, then endured a nightmarish final period and lost to West Hills 71-57 at the Hancock Crossover in Santa Maria.

After trailing 44-36, the Falcons closed the game on a 35-13 run.

Jeanie Pattison led the Vaqueros with 14 points while Kay Phosakham and Destinee King had nine apiece.

West Hills shot 58 percent from the field and hit 26-of-32 free throws. The Vaqueros knocked down 50 percent of their field goals but only got to the line half as much, making 11-of-16.

"We were playing 14 freshmen and we couldn't sustain our momentum," said coach Sandrine Krul. "I'm really happy with our effort, we just need to work on our execution. This was a good learning experience."

The Vaqueros will take on Porterville on Saturday in a 5 p.m. game at Hancock.