The Santa Barbara High girls basketball team exacted revenge on Channel League opponent Buena on Thursday in the Dons’ league opener, winning handily by a score of 51-34.
The Dons (11-7, 1-0) had fallen to the Bulldogs (15-5, 0-2) twice in early-season tournament play, but they put together their best game of the season when it mattered most.
Cassandra Gordon put up a game-high 18 points, while hauling in eight rebounds and dishing out four assists.
“She was solid the whole game,” Santa Barbara head coach Andrew Butcher claimed of Gordon. “She worked very hard the past two weeks and it paid off.”
The Dons took an early 8-4 lead midway through the first quarter, but Buena battled back to tie the game at 10.
Gordon and Sophia Torres scored Santa Barbara’s first 10 points. Torres notched a double-double after scoring 10 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
Everything came together for Santa Barbara in the second quarter as it went on a 13-0 run, highlighted by strong play from freshmen Mireya Gil and Maya Banks, and took a 23-15 lead into halftime.
“The two freshmen played very well,” praised Butcher. “They had some steals and rebounds, and when they were in the game, we went on a run.”
The third quarter was much of the same, as Santa Barbara’s Kristen Sullivan hit back-to-back three-pointers and the Dons rode into the fourth with a nine-point lead. Sullivan finished the game with 12 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
Both teams struggled offensively in the fourth quarter, but Kimberly Gebhardt drained her only field goal of the night, a three from the right corner, to put the Dons up by 14 with 4:23 left. The Santa Barbara defense clinched the game.
“We worked and worked and worked and played a lot better,” said Butcher. “We’re pretty excited about how we played.”
The Dons take on rival San Marcos on Tuesday at San Marcos.
— Noozhawk sports reporter Christian Eckert can be reached at ceckert@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports and @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.