Senior guard Athena Saragoza notched a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double as the Santa Barbara girls basketball team cruised to a 76-46 Channel League victory over crosstown rival San Marcos on Thursday at the Thunderhut.
With the win, the Dons move to 4-0 in league play, while the Royals fall to a 2-2 league record.
Despite hitting only one of her five three-point attempts on the night, Zaragoza’s reliable mid-range shot and prowess on the fast break enabled her to score a game-high 23.
Junior forward Jaeda Spence chipped in 16 points and 8 assists for the Dons, while Brianna Trujillo added 14 points on 4-9 shooting from deep.
In the loss, Oceana Bauer was the only Royal to hit double figures with 10 points.
For Santa Barbara, the team’s performance on the boards and in transition proved to be the difference in the game. The Dons recorded a season-high 45 rebounds on the night, while also recording 20 assists as a team.
“If you do well in rebounds and assists, you’re going to do well—you don’t lose too many games doing well in those categories,” said Dons coach Andrew Butcher.
A sizable portion of those 20 assists came in transition, especially in the first half. Early in the game, San Marcos opted to full-court press the Dons, but the ball-handling and speed of Saragoza and Caia Trimble allowed Santa Barbara to break the press rather easily.
“We talked before the game that we really wanted to keep the guards out of foul trouble,” said Butcher. “We have two super talented guards, and when we have them on the floor it’s hard to press us”.
To its credit, San Marcos’ relentless defense did seem to fluster Santa Barbara in the first half, as the Dons committed nine turnovers in the half.
The Dons, however, opened the third quarter on a 15-6 run—a run which would give them a 49-23 lead and ultimately blow the game open.
“We talked at halftime about rushing our shots and passes,” said Butcher. “We were getting a lot of high percentage shots, but we just hurried them.”
Toward the end of the third quarter, San Marcos put together a run, largely led by Bauer, who scored eight of San Marcos’ last 11 points in the quarter. The run enabled the Royals to close the gap to 20, but they would never be able to narrow the gap for the rest of the night.
“We could’ve played a bit better on defense and we could have moved the ball better on offense,” said San Marcos coach Tiffany Simms. “If we would’ve stuck to the basics, it would have been a better game.”
Both Simms and Butcher acknowledged the relative youth of the Royals, with Butcher stating that he expects a much closer game in the second matchup between the teams.
Next up, Santa Barbara will take on Lompoc, while San Marcos will face Dos Pueblos.
