Brandi Blackwell was a force to be reckoned with on Monday night at the Thunderhut, helping the Santa Barbara girls basketball team overcome a tenacious defensive effort from San Marcos in a 38-31 Channel League decision.
“It was a good thing Brandi Blackwell showed up,” said Santa Barbara head coach Andrew Butcher, whose Dons won despite being bothered into shooting 12-of-54 from the field.
Blackwell posted game-highs in both the scoring and rebounding columns, grabbing 18 boards to go with 14 points and three steals.
But when the Dons used a 7-0 run to end the third quarter and take the lead for good, Blackwell did it with the pass.
The senior center found Larissa Lavender for a layup that started the run and tied the score 24-24. Then Blackwell received the ball on the high post and checked her options, choosing to lay it off behind to Jessica Ramirez who sank the 3-pointer without hesitation. Rebecca Griffin knocked down a 16-foot jump shot to end the quarter.
A two-point Royals lead swung into a 5-point Dons advantage in under 90 seconds.
Jeannette Mendoza gave the Royals their lead with her eighth point of the third quarter and tried to get San Marcos another starting with a difficult shot between two defenders to start the final period.
Kalley Ridgway banked in a 3-pointer two minutes later to pull the Royals within one at 30-29 but Griffin answered with three straight free throws after getting fouled beyond the arc to push the Dons back up by four.
The Dons were 13-18 from the line for the game and 7-for-9 in the fourth quarter including two huge ones from Blackwell in a 1-and-1 situation that put Santa Barbara up six with 1:14 remaining on the clock.
The Dons won even though the 38 points was their lowest point total in a win this season.
“We were 5-for-31 first half so their defensive scheme was very, very good.” noted Butcher, before tallying up the second half (7-for-23) and seeing that it was only a little better.
“Defensively we just got the job done,” raved San Marcos head coach Kristyn Miller of limiting the potent Dons. “We continued to stay with our defense and we played great.”
Santa Barbara liked its defensive effort as well.
“Our big goal was to not let them get as many layups,” Blackwell said, remembering the two teams’ first meeting.
After Mendoza routinely drove the lane in the third quarter, Butcher went to a bigger lineup in the fourth.
“We we trying to do something to stop the drive and our small lineup was having troubles so we went with a longer lineup,” explained Butcher.
“She’s definitely our go-to player and rightly so. She’s earned that title,” Miller said of the defense-changing Mendoza, who led the Royals with 13 points – 11 coming in the second half – and 10 rebounds.
San Marcos faces Ventura on Thursday in its final regular season game while the Dons can clinch a playoff berth with a victory over Dos Pueblos.
SANTA BARBARA 38, SAN MARCOS 31
SANTA BARBARA – Blackwell 14, Ramirez 3, Kerns 3, Emerson 4, Boscacci 4, Lavendar 2, Griffin 6, Crispin 2. Totals – 11, 13-18, 38
SAN MARCOS – Chilton 5, Mendoza 13, Ochoa 2, Unzueta 2, Sanchez 6, Ridgway 3. Totals – 9, 7-16, 31.
Santa Barbara 8 7 14 9 – 38
San Marcos 14 0 10 7 – 31
3-pointers – SB 1 (Ramirez), SM 2 (Chilton, Ridgway). Total Fouls – SB 16, SM 17.
