Vaquero women’s basketball came out big in their season opener as they blew out the El Camino Warriors 68-44 at City College’s Crossover Tournament Friday evening.

With seven returning players, the Lady Vaqs exhibited their expertise in running the floor and in doing so, dominated both sides of the court.

“We’re dedicated to keeping the winning tradition alive here at City College,” said head coach Sandra Krul.

From tip-off the Lady Vaqs came out ferocious, abusing the sloppy El Camino defense with productive fast-break opportunities and great ball movement between the guards and interior-post players.

The inconsistent Warriors offense could hardly penetrate the tightly knit Vaquero backcourt that quickly gave City College the upper hand.

Guards Ari Hendrix-Roach and Kelli Lem caused a ruckus on defense, stripping the ball from the Warriors numerous times.

“Our team chemistry is working well,” Krul said.

Lady Vaquero forward Jessica Romero powered the offense with 14 first-half points as a result of cunning drop step moves.

Lem found gold at the end of a rainbow base line jumper to end the half to put the Vaqueros up 34-18.

City College opened up the second half with a full-court press, which held Warriors possessions to a minimum.

Even with a comfortable lead, the Lady Vaqueros gave full effort by hustling for every loose ball.

The Warriors attempted to hinder the Vaquero defense, but were only able to score on forced drives and sporadic outside shooting.

As a result, an aggravated Warriors defense left the Lady Vaqs to weave through the loose stitches in El Camino’s back court.

“The entire team contributes to our success,” Romero said.

Cruising through the second half, Lady Vaqueros team ran all 15 of its players putting the game away 68-44.