They started off with a 14-0 run, but the Santa Barbara Dons were never able to get too comfortable against Beaverton of Oregon, eventually pulling out a 65-57 win to take fifth place in the Tournament of Champions Green Division.
“We saw this team many times in this tournament, so we knew how explosive they could be,” said coach Andrew Butcher. “So 14 points was about 50 less than we needed to be comfortable.”
Santa Barbara’s lead was only three at 56-53 with 2:30 left in the game, but Jessica Ramirez knocked down a huge 3-pointer from the corner. Rebecca Griffin hit her seventh trey on the Dons’ next possession to get the lead up to 62-55, and the Dons held on from there.
Griffin finished 7-for-12 from beyond the arc with 26 points, and Brandi Blackwell had yet another double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds to go with five assists and three steals. She told Butcher Tuesday morning that she had been offered a scholarship by Fresno Pacific University.
The Dons (10-2) suffered a loss in the game, however, as senior guard Geena Boscacci went down in the second quarter with what appeared to be a severe ankle sprian.
The Beavers responded to the 14-0 start by scoring 11 unanswered, but Griffin took over for a short stretch at the start of the second. She had a steal and lay-up with 6:15 left to make the Santa Barbara lead 18-11, hit treys with 4:50 and 4:30 left, and made a great pass to Tess Emerson (eight points) on a fast-break to make it 28-19.
The Dons, however, started struggling with their transition defense and gave up 24 points to the Beavers in the second quarter. The Santa Barbara lead got as small as 34-33, then as big as 51-34, then back down to 56-53 before Ramirez and Griffin buried their big shots.
“It was an exciting game, but we made some mistakes and we still want to improve,” said Butcher.
He said he couldn’t wait to see league-foes Buena and Ventura square off in the Gold Division title game later on that evening.
“If we continue to improve I think we can compete with those teams,” he said.
(Photos by Blake Dorfman/PresidioPics. To order prints, e-mail [email protected])
SANTA BARBARA 65, BEAVERTON 57
BEAVERTON — McKee 14, Hertzog 4, Krichevsky 14, Crutch 2, Douglas 3, Losh 8, Jones 8, Lemcaster 4. Totals 24 5-11 57.
SANTA BARBARA — Blackwell 10, Ramirez 3, Griffin 26, Lavender 3, Crispin 4, Emerson 8, Pereyra 7, Kerns 2. Totals 25 7-13 65.
Beaverton…………6 24 17 10 — 57
Santa Barbara…..14 18 19 14 — 65
3-point goals — B 4 (Krichevsky 3, McKee 1), SB 8 (Griffin 7, Ramirez 1).
Total fouls — B 12, SB 12.
