Kristyn Miller had five different defenses drawn up that her San Marcos girls basketball team could use against Santa Barbara in Tuesday night’s game.
But when you’re facing a bigger, more experienced opponent, even the thickest playbook just won’t cut it sometimes.
Brandi Blackwell had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the host Dons, who shook off an early challenge by the pesky Royals to pull out a 64-43 win at J.R. Richards Gym.
“Size and experience I think were a big deal. They’ve had quite a few players play on varsity for a few years, so that’s definitely in their favor. They’re out here to battle,” said Miller.
One of the Dons’ most potent weapons, sharp-shooting point guard Rebecca Griffin, was the center of attention for the Royal defense in the first half, and thus didn’t get any shots off. Griffin’s been known to hit upwards of six or seven 3-pointers in a game, but Santa Barbara simply adjusted by going inside and exploiting the size differential in the paint. She finished with five assists, as did Geena Boscacci.
“I think they were in a diamond-and-1 with somebody assigned to (Griffin),” said longtime Santa Barbara coach Andrew Butcher. “We told her to just play great defense and set up her teammates. She’s comfortable shooting the ball a lot, so she has to find a different role when they assign someone to shut her down like that.”
So to the paint the Dons went.
Blackwell had her turnaround-jumper working down low and was 10-for-20 from the floor on the night. Siondra Pereyra also had her fun under the basket, going a perfect 5-for-5 on field-goal attempts.
“We really executed getting the ball to the post this game. I feel great about this win,” she said.
San Marcos’ offensive game-plan was to attack the basket relentlessly, an approach which has been bolstered thanks to the recent return of senior Kalley Ridgway, who scored a team-high 10 points, as did Jeannette Mendoza.
Kimmy Sanchez put in a desperation 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down to give the Royals a 14-11 lead near the end of the first quarter, but Larissa Lavender hit a shot from the top of the key early in the second to give the Dons a 15-14 lead, and Santa Barbara would stay ahead the rest of the way, outscoring the Royals 51-29 over the final three quarters.
San Marcos would continue to attack the basket, but missed numerous close-range attempts down the stretch.
“We’d better play better defense next time, because they missed 10 lay-ups in the second half,” said Butcher. “That would have maybe won them the game.”
While Santa Barbara did a lot of damage inside, Jessica Ramirez was strong around the perimeter, swishing three long-balls for her nine points.
Santa Barbara (15-6, 2-2) plays Dos Pueblos on Tuesday while San Marcos (6-13, 1-3) is at Camarillo on Saturday.
SANTA BARBARA 64, SAN MARCOS 43
SAN MARCOS — Chilton 4, Mendoza 10, Sanchez 9, Ridgway 10, Ochoa 5, Unzueta 5. Totals 14 12-20 43.
SANTA BARBARA — Blackwell 20, Ramirez 11, Griffin 7, Lavender 7, Gilmore 1, Emerson 6, Pereyra 10, Kerns 2. Totals 27 5-7 64.
San Marcos………14 10 10 9 — 43
Santa Barbara….13 18 17 16 — 64
3-point goals — SM 3 (Sanchez, Ridgway, Ochoa), SB 5 (Ramirez 3, Griffin 1, Lavender).
Total fouls — SM 12, SB 16.
