Stanford-bound star Alexis Lee was held to just one goal as the Santa Barbara High girls water polo team clinched a playoff berth with Tuesday’s 7-4 home win against Buena.
Lee, guarded primarily by Leah Gonzales, went scoreless for nearly an hour before scoring in the final two minutes for the Cougars. The Dons were up 7-2 with two minutes remaining in the game.
The last meeting between the two teams was much closer, as Santa Barbara held on for a 4-3 victory back on December 16th.
“We were so young at that point that we didn’t really know what we had as a team, but we figured it out and we’re obviously a lot better at this point,” said coach Mark Walsh.
Makenzy Fowler led the way with three goals, while Samantha King had four steals and Charlotte Hendrix dished out three assists. Chloe Brooks had 13 saves in the cage for the Dons (8-12, 5-1 Channel League), who will open this weekend’s Irvine Tournament against Long Beach Milliken.
SANTA BARBARA 7, VENTURA 4
Ventura……………..0 2 0 2 — 4
Santa Barbara…. 2 3 1 1 — 7
Goals—V: Lee 1, Arjund 1, Bartosh 1, Krumpholtz 1. SB: Fowler 3, Cusimano 1, Ingalls 1, Gonzales 1, Wissman 1.
Saves —SB: Brooks 13, V: Smit 8.
