SMC Women’s Hoops Narrowly Escapes with a Victory Over Santa Barbara College; 73-72

Through hustle and gritty work, the Santa Monica College Lady Corsairs handed the Lady Vaqueros of Santa Barbara College their third loss of the season on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at home with a final score of 73-72.

SMC freshman guard Haley Newell torched the Santa Barbara defense with an impressive offensive performance, scoring a team-high 19 points on seven made field goals.

Matching Newell’s scoring output, sophomore forward Chantal Diaz also scored 19 points while grabbing seven rebounds off the defensive glass.

Teammate Liz Zimmerman, a sophomore center for the Lady Corsairs added 17 points and 14 rebounds for the game.

What seemed to be a sure-fire victory in the first half for the Lady Corsairs turned out to be a nail-biting contest as Santa Barbara had the last possession, down one point with 1.3 seconds left in the game.

Fortunately for the Lady Corsairs, they managed to thwart the Lady Vaqueros attempt at stealing a victory in the waning seconds of the match-up.

The Lady Corsairs’ season record now stands at 3-4. Their next game will be played at Pasadena City College in the Pasadena Tournament on Thursday, Dec. 10 at 8 p.m.