San Joaquin Delta built a 37-21 halftime lead on Thursday on the way to a 76-56 victory over SBCC in the first round of the Saddleback Lady Gaucho Classic in Mission Viejo.
San Joaquin Delta (3-1) won the shooting battle 35.6 to 27.5 percent and used their full-court press to force 38 turnovers that led to 36 points.
Destinee King led the Vaqueros (2-3) with 17 points and eight rebounds. Stella Dulay had 14 points, thanks to 11-12 free-throw shooting, and Alyssa Cosio added 11.
Mia Jones had 22 points and seven rebounds for the Mustangs, who attempted 50 more field goals (90 to 40) and made 21 more (32 to 11). The Vaqueros made 29-39 free throws and the Mustangs were 6-13.
"We got to the free-throw line 39 times but we turned the ball over against a very high-octane press," said coach Sandrine Krul. "When we broke the press, we would miss open shots. The good part is, our team was exposed to an 'in-your-face' defense and our guards will learn from this.
"Even though we lost, this team has such great chemistry that after the game, they just said, 'Let's hit the reset button and go get 'em tomorrow.' "
The Vaqueros will take on San Diego Mesa on Friday in a consolation semifinal at 3 p.m.
