Vikings surpass shorthanded Coyotes

BARSTOW • Exhaustion and a strong center was all the Barstow Community College women’s basketball team needed Wednesday night.

The Vikings outscored Cerro Coso Community College 63-58 to earn a victory at home. The Coyotes started the season with eight players, and they came into Wednesday’s game shorthanded. Cerro Coso lost center Katie McDonald to an Achilles tendon injury earlier this season.

On the other hand, Barstow center Jallisa Butler was very much present and led both teams with 25 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double.

“Jallisa did a good job tonight,” Barstow coach Tim Woods said. “She got some good shots and was playing strong defense.”

Cerro Coso coach Tom Heck said the Coyotes tried to double team Butler, but they were unable to stop her.
“We just don’t have anyone that can guard her,” Heck said. “Barstow just has Butler down low and some good guards. They can be hard to stop.”

The Coyotes kept the game close going into the final eight minutes of the second half, and they even led 37-35 at halftime. However, Cerro Coso slowed down toward the end of the game with a two-person bench and allowed Barstow to go on a 15-5 run leading into the final minute of the game.

Cerro Coso coach Tom Heck said his team has struggled late in games this season.

“We just couldn’t hold on those last few minutes,” Heck said. “Forty minutes can seem like an eternity when you only have seven girls. They just get burnt out. I wish we could just not play those last eight minutes and do a 32-minute game like in high school sometimes.”

Although the win was a moral boost for a Barstow team that fell 58-57 to Chaffey College last Friday, Woods said his team will have to play better to beat Victor Valley College at 5 p.m. Friday in Victorville. The Vikings finished the game with 19 turnovers, and they gave up nine 3-pointers.

“We were missing assignments on their 3-point shooters even after we talked about it,” Woods said. “It’s frustrating to watch. We have to get it together if we want to win Friday. We beat Victor Valley by 26 points last time, but they’re a completely different team at this point in the season.”

Butler echoed her coaches sentiment about Wednesday’s game.

“We shouldn’t have won,” Butler said. “We didn’t play our game. We are a much more athletic and talented team than we showed tonight.”

The Barstow Community College men’s basketball team also picked up a win Wednesday night. The Vikings trailed by as much as 12 points in the second half, but came back to beat 87-85 Rio Hondo in Barstow. Daquan Brown led Barstow with 6 points and 15 rebounds to earn a double-double.  Ray Mitchell finished the night with 24 points.  Martez Walker was also in double figures with 15 points. The Vikings shot 49% from the field with 15 assists and 12 turnovers.

BARSTOW (63)
Butler 25, Warren 10, Rigon 8, Williams 6, L. Johnson 4, Hamden 3, Laidler 3, S. Johnson 2, Descheny 2.
CERRO COSO (58)
Tessay 16, Freeman 13, Belcher 12, Banks 8, Scott 7, Johnson 2.

3-point field goals — Barstow 3 (Rigon 2, S. Johnson 1); Cerro Coso 9 (Tessay 5, Belcher 3,  Scott 1).