The Bishop Diego girls basketball dropped two games at the Santa Maria Tournament on Thursday, 44-24 against Paso Robles and 49-39 against Santa Maria.
In the opener, the Cardinals were down by only two (25-23) before going cold in the fourth period.
“They had two 6-foot players that hurt us late in the game,” said coach Jeff Burich.
Against Santa Maria, the Cardinals fought back from a 34-9 halftime deficit and made it a close game.
“We outscored them 16-2 in the third quarter to make it a closer game. I was proud of how we competed and didn’t give up,” said Burich.
He pointed out that members of the CIF-champion volleyball team started joining the basketbal team this week, “so we’re a little behind compared to most teams.”
The Cardinals also were missing three key players.
Freshman Sonia Mancuso led Bishop in scoring in both games, scoring seven in the opener and 12 in the second game.
“Citlali Morales played great defense in both games and Clara McDonald played physical and made a difference for us inside,” said Burich.
The Cardinals play Santa Ynez on Saturday.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.