Vaqueros work for win over Central

By Ramon Scott
Updated: December 9, 2025

2025 EAST COUNTY PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL

EL CAPITAN 40, CENTRAL 46

EastCountySports.com

BRAWLEY — El Capitan needed every scrap of composure it could muster on Saturday afternoon, and the Vaqueros found just enough in the fourth quarter to outlast host Central Union, 50–46, in a rugged, back-and-forth contest that felt like a winter tournament game played a couple of weeks early.

What separated the Vaqueros was less a single scoring eruption and more a determined, blue-collar finish.

They trailed 25–20 late in the second quarter and never quite shook free of the Spartans until the final seconds, but El Cap kept stacking possessions, leaning on rebounding, free throws, and just enough shot-making to flip the game their way.

After three quarters, the score sat at 34–33 Central; El Capitan closed with a 16–12 fourth to get out of the Valley with its fifth win in seven starts.

Senior forward Keira Heinricy put her stamp on the outcome with a classic “do-everything” line, scoring four points while hauling in a team-high 11 rebounds and adding four assists and two steals. Her interior work bridged the cold spells and kept the Vaqueros’ offense afloat when Central’s Alexa Flores (game-high 13 points) threatened to tilt the afternoon in the Spartans’ favor.

Sophomore Kennedy O’Neil added 12 points on a steady diet of drives and midrange looks, battling to an eight-rebound effort of her own.

El Capitan seemed to find something each time it needed it: a tough finish from Sasha Parker, a free-throw trip from Camiele Dixon, a second-chance bucket from Madison Zarzan, or a defensive stand from the rotation of young forwards who absorbed Central’s physicality.

The decisive stretch came midway through the fourth, when the Vaqueros turned a 40–39 deficit into a 46–42 lead by winning three straight hustle plays.

Heinricy saved a possession off an offensive rebound that led to two Parker free throws; O’Neil muscled in a short jumper through contact; and Zarzan kept a loose ball alive that allowed the Vaqueros to run clock and, eventually, extend the edge at the line.

Central stayed within reach behind Flores’ interior scoring and a pair of timely finishes from freshman Karina Aispuro, but El Capitan never surrendered the lead again after the five-minute mark.

The Vaqueros finished with a 40–33 rebounding advantage, including 18 offensive boards that repeatedly blunted Central’s momentum. They also cashed nine free throws in the second half, part of a 19-for-18 afternoon from the stripe that proved critical on a day when the field-goal percentage hovered around 32 percent.

For a group that has often relied on flow and pace, this one required grit. El Capitan matched the Spartans basket for basket in the first quarter, fell behind in the second, and climbed back with a 14-9 third that nudged the energy back to the visiting bench. The fourth was all guts: long rebounds, contested drives, and a defense that yielded nothing easy.

At 5–2, the Vaqueros have logged back-to-back road wins and continue to reveal a certain stubbornness that travels well. Saturday’s grind wasn’t glamorous, but it was the kind of win that rounds off the rough edges of a season. Their December schedule only gets tougher from here, but this one will serve as a reminder that they can endure a tug-of-war and still find the last word.