The hands were quick, the feet were moving, the switches were called out and there was support when a player got beat.
The solid defensive play by the young Santa Barbara High School girls basketball team in the first half set the tone in a 61-38 blowout of Arroyo Grande on Tuesday night at J.R. Richards Gym.
Steals by senior guard Caia Trimble that led to several fast-break baskets and tenacious inside play and rebounding from freshman Dayzia Mendoza got the Dons going early.
Three straight baskets by Trimble put them up 15-3. Sophomore Stella Birgioli knocked down a 15-footer and scored after an offensive rebound by freshman Elle Stone to make it 19-5. Freshman Lauren Robles fed Stone for a 21-8 advantage at the end of the quarter.
Mendoza hit a pair of three-pointers during an 11-0 run in the second quarter. Stone showed her offensive prowess, driving for a layup and then knocking down a pull-up 12-foot jumper during a 6-2 run to put the Dons ahead 43-13.
The first-half performance was a big improvement over Santa Barbara’s play at last weekend’s Lompoc Tournament, where it lost against strong Piedmont and Orcutt Academy teams and dealt with some injuries.
“We weren’t 100%, but we also didn’t play well,” coach Andrew Butcher said of the Lompoc Tournament games. “We turned the ball over, we took poor-percentage shots and we got lost on defense.
“Today, our defense was better. You can see a lot of switches, a lot of helping, a lot of talking. And that’s something we really struggled with in the tournament last weekend.”
The Dons had 10 steals against Arroyo Grande, with Trimble picking off seven to go with 12 points and five assists.
Stone led the team in scoring 19 points, and Lauren Robles added 14 points, 12 coming on four three pointers. Stone also had five assists.
Santa Barbara shot 55% for the game (26 of 52) and made 7 of 18 threes (38%).
Ella Parish scored seven points and Jaylyn Tyler had six for Arroyo Grande (8-5).
Butcher said he liked how the players shared the ball. The team had 16 assists.
“They’re making basketball plays, and we didn’t make basketball plays last weekend,” he said.
He noted that the team has taken its lumps in the early season, “but they’re learning to play the game and play together. So it’s a lot of fun when it kind of comes together.”
The Dons (3-3) will host a tough Pacifica of Oxnard on Thursday night.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.