Santa Barbara High couldn’t keep Ventura off the boards and dropped a 54-24 decision to the CIF-SS Division 1AA eighth-ranked Cougars in the Channel League finale on Wednesday night in Ventura.
“They killed us on the offensive rebounds,” Santa Barbara coach Andrew Butcher said. “Probably more than half of their points came on offensive rebounds.”
The Cougars finish undefeated in league play (8-0) while Santa Barbara takes third at 4-4. Buena, which defeated Dos Pueblos on Wednesday night, came in second place at 5-3 and DP placed fourth at 3-5.
Cassandra Gordon scored 14 points for Santa Barbara (14-12 overall), which trailed 21-11 at halftime. Kristen Sullivan was the next highest scorer for the Dons with seven.
Colorado-bound Aubrey Knight had 14 points and 13 rebounds, Kenya Henderson had 10 points and six boards and Kayla Togneri grabbed seven boards for the Cougars.
Santa Barbara coach Andrew Butcher thought his team could give Ventura a closer game.
“I’m disappointed we didn’t make them work harder,” he said.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.