Dos Pueblos girls basketball’s high-powered offense struck once again in a 71-34 victory over crosstown rival Santa Barbara High on Tuesday inside JR Richards Gym.
The Chargers nailed 19 three-pointers as a team, accounting for 57 of their 71 points en route to the win.
“For our team, a three-pointer is a high percentage shot because they practice them so much and they make a lot of them,” Dos Pueblos coach Manny Murillo said. “When you have that with the way the game is played now, it’s hard to guard.
“It’s the future, it’s positionless basketball. You’ve got to be able to dribble, pass, shoot and defend.”
Murillo drew inspiration for this play style from the coaching of Dave and Joe Bregante, who led Santa Barbara High boys basketball to a CIF-SS title in 2016.
Despite the lopsided final score, the Dons kept the game close in the first quarter and a half of the game.
After two minutes of scoreless basketball, Santa Barbara High got on the board first with a layup by Aleena Padilla off an assist from Dayzia Mendoza.
Both teams then found a bit of a groove offensively, with Mendoza nailing a three-pointer to take a 9-6 lead with 2:57 to go in the quarter.
However, a pair of three-pointers by Justine Katz gave the Chargers a 12-9 lead heading into the second quarter.
After some back-and-forth play to begin the quarter, Santa Barbara’s Chloe Adams found Mendoza for a layup to cut the Dos Pueblos advantage to 15-14 at the 5:44 mark.
The rest of the first half was dominated by the Chargers, who ripped off a 12-2 run to go into the locker room leading 27-16.
In that run, Katz accounted for half of the Dos Pueblos points. Katz, a senior on a relatively youthful Charger squad, ended the night leading all scorers with 20 points.
“This is a young group but we also have some seniors that provide a really good balance and mentorship to our younger kids,” Murillo said. “I couldn’t be happier with the way our seniors have welcomed and embraced the freshmen.”
Dos Pueblos carried the momentum from the end of the second quarter over to the second half, outscoring the Dons 44-18 to cruise to the win. The Chargers used strong ball movement and timely shooting to separate themselves from Santa Barbara High.
In that dominant final two quarters, Carly Letendre scored 12 of her 18 total points, finding plenty of success from beyond the arc.
“They’re gelling really well, it’s showing right now but it started many, many years ago,” Murillo said. “I’ve been blessed to have the majority of this group since they were very young so naturally it forms a very unselfish, caring group.
“How much they care for each other off the court translates very well onto the court.”
The defense also did its job for Dos Pueblos, consistently preventing open looks and causing turnovers.
“We obviously score at a high level but for us to get where we want to be, we’ve got to buckle down on defense and hold teams to the 30s and tonight we did that,” Murillo said.
While they found plenty of success for the most part, the Chargers struggled to contain Santa Barbara’s Aleena Padilla, who collected 15 points and five rebounds on the night.
Dos Pueblos (9-2, 3-0 Channel League) will host Santa Ynez on Thursday at 7 p.m. while the Dons (3-8, 0-3) will take the rest of 2023 off and resume against Oxnard on Jan. 4.
Ventura 60, San Marcos 42
The shorthanded Royals struggled late and fell to the Cougars on Tuesday.
Missing two starters, San Marcos battled and kept the game close for the first three quarters. However, Ventura pulled away in the final four minutes of play for the win.
“We played a solid three quarters offensively and defensively,” Royals coach Tiffany Simms said. “I am so proud of the reserves that got in and stepped up for the team.”
Lily Ruvalcaba and Carley Nielsen paced San Marcos in scoring with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Mariia Shytkova also pitched in eight points of her own.
The Royals will open up the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions against Camarillo on Thursday at 4 p.m.
