The City College women’s basketball team beat the Hancock Bulldogs 80-69 after a strong team performance Saturday night at the Sports Pavilion.
The Vaqueros were the first to get on the board as they came out firing and quickly took the lead in the first quarter. City College led the Bulldogs by eight points as they headed into the second quarter.
Hancock won the second quarter, outscoring the Vaqueros 27-20, narrowing the lead down to one, as they took advantage of some costly turnovers.
“Turnovers, we had too many turnovers this game,” said freshman guard Destinee King. “We need to slow down and run more plays.”
King acknowledged that sometimes the teams “go go go” mindset causes them to commit errors and turn the ball over. The freshman guard had 18 points, 13 rebounds, and six blocks in the Vaqueros win.
Freshman forward Kesler Johnson agreed with King stating that the team needs to be more aware of the time and take it slow when they have the ball to minimize the mistakes. Johnson was perfect from beyond the arc going 3-3. She had 18 points and nine rebounds on the night.
“Dumb turnovers that we force on ourselves, that’s what hurts us,” said head coach Sandrine Krul. “We have to eliminate turnovers.”
The Bulldogs came out hungry in the second half. With only a few minutes left in the third quarter, Hancock took the lead for the first and only time throughout the game.
However, they were not able to maintain the lead due to turnovers which saw the Vaqueros take a 63-58 lead going into the fourth.
The Vaqueros carried the momentum over to the fourth quarter, and with high energy from the bench they pulled away and built a strong lead to close out the game at 80-69.
“All of [the bench], everyone, they all had energy,” said Johnson. “They brought out high energy.”
“Our beast Destinee [King] was struggling, she still had 18, but it was the bench play that really brought the team up and that’s what great teams do,” Krul said. “They play as a team and don’t just rely on one player.”
King said that she had a “terrible game,” but appreciated the team’s collaborative performance.
“I didn’t play well, but my team came out and had my back,” she King.
Freshman guard Nalei’a Brackett had her best offensive performance of the season, recording 17 points going 4-7 from three point range.
Apart from her big offensive performance she emphasized that her team needed to do things better on defense and “keep teams in the 50s.”
“It was a huge win,” Krul said. “In conference they’re 4-2 and we were 3-3, so this wins ties us at second.”
“Getting the win feels great,” Kesler said. “It makes things easier, but we definitely have to stay focused for the rest of the season.”
The team’s focus is now on the future as Krul called them “huge games.” She said that they “have to worry about ourselves” and our “team intensity.”
The Vaqueros are now 4-3 in conference and have a bye before they travel to Cuesta College on Saturday, Feb. 6 to take on the Cougars.
