Vaqs Survive Overtime, Stun Santa Ana
By: Aj Nagbe
TORRANCE, Calif. — The Vaqueros survived a back-and-forth overtime thriller, outlasting Santa Ana 86-85 on Tuesday night to capture their fourth consecutive victory and close out the El Camino Crossover.
The game featured seven lead changes and three ties.
Santa Barbara led by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter but watched Santa Ana claw back, forcing overtime with a late rally.
Coach Sandrine Krul celebrated the hard-fought victory over a longtime rival and ranked opponent. "Santa Ana and Santa Barbara have had rivalry games for decades, and our games are always epic," Krul said. "It was nice to win in overtime against a ranked opponent. Khaya off the bench, I think she holds the record for most three-pointers made in a game, that was awesome."
Krul emphasized that the team's challenging early-season schedule had prepared them for moments like these. "Every lesson that we learned in November was for these moments in December," she said. "It's team wins, team wins, team wins. Everybody's locked in, and they don't care who scores or about playing time. They care about us winning, and we've been that way since the start of the season."
Khaya Jackson came off the bench to score a game-high 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 7-of-9 from three-point range, to lead Santa Barbara.
Aariah Fox added 20 points and a game-high 12 rebounds while dishing out 9 assists.
Kaylee Lawson chipped in 15 points, and Milan Jackson contributed 10 as four Vaqueros reached double figures.
Krul highlighted the team's unselfish play, noting Santa Barbara recorded a season-high 26 assists. "That shows how we're playing team basketball," Krul said. "Everybody is coming in, hitting free throws when we needed them. We're excited to get our fourth win in a row and continue playing team basketball."
Santa Barbara (8-5) looks to extend its win streak to five as they face Saddleback on Thursday, Dec. 19, at 5 p.m. in the Colleen Riley Crossover at Fullerton College.