Fullerton edges Vaqueros, 75-69

Fullerton ended the second quarter on an 18-6 run on Saturday and went on to hand SBCC its first women's basketball loss of the season, 75-69, at the Sports Pavilion.

The Vaqueros (1-1) took their biggest lead at 22-16 on a 3-pointer by Morgan Giove with 5:59 to go in the second quarter. Marcella Tanuvasa answered with a triple at the other end, sparking the 18-6 run that gave the visitors a 34-28 halftime lead.

Santa Barbara got within three a few times in the third quarter but never could get the lead back.

Aaliyah Pauling led the Vaqueros with 23 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. She hit 8-of-19 from the field and 3-8 from long distance. Meagan Moore had 11 points off the bench and Giove added 10 points. Lauren Noggle had a game-high 12 rebounds, including four offensive, while Hannah Rogers had four points and nine rebounds.

Kristen Sheriff topped the Hornets (1-1) with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

"We played hard tonight, we just have to play hard for 40 minutes," said Vaquero coach Sandrine Krul. "We couldn't get over the hump and get the lead in the second half. You have to be ready to play on back-to-back nights. Our freshmen will get it.

"Losing is a great learning tool. Every quarter was even except that second one."

The Vaqueros struggled with fouls for the second straight night. They committed 41 in Friday's season-opening 98-73 win over Taft and made 29 more fouls on Saturday.

Diamond Alexander, one of SBCC's top players, was in foul trouble throughout and scored just five points in 11 minutes. She fouled out with 8:28 to go in the fourth period.

"Not having Diamond really hurt us," noted Krul. "She barely played in the second half. We need her in the game. We just have to hit shots."

The Hornets outshot the Vaqueros 49.1 to 35.9 percent. Santa Barbara made just 55 percent of its free throws (16-29) and Fullerton was even worse at 47.1 percent (16-34).

The Vaqueros won't be home for the next two months as they'll hit the road to play in six tournaments or two-day crossovers. They'll play at L.A. Valley next weekend, taking on the Monarchs on Friday at 7 p.m. and Antelope Valley on Saturday at 5 p.m.