Orange Lutheran’s girls basketball team showed no mercy Monday night in its quest for back-to-back titles in the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions Green Division. The Lancers outmatched San Marcos 62-31 to advance to the semifinals against Arroyo Grande.
According to San Marcos Coach Kristyn Miller, Lutheran is the complete package.
“They’re steady, athletic, fundamental, well coached, they rebound, shoot and execute,” said Miller.
The San Marcos (8-4) loss, coupled with a Dos Pueblos loss in the quarterfinals sets up a Channel League preview, as the cross-town rivals will square off in the third round Tuesday.
“They [Lutheran] have shooters and that’s what Dos Pueblos has. Tonight definitely prepared us for DP,” Miller said.
Lutheran showed off its shooting by posting a 17-0 first quarter advantage with a balanced attack and aggressive defense that held San Marcos scoreless the first six minutes of the game.
“They shot really good. Everything they put up went in,” said San Marcos forward Marissa Unzueta.
Kimmy Sanchez put San Marcos on the board with a 3-pointer and Unzueta followed with a 3-point play, but Lutheran continued to add to its lead, ending the half on top 38-14. Sanchez finished with 10 points, Unzueta had eight and Emily Dietz had six for the Royals.
The Lancers spread around their outside attack, with five different players connecting from beyond the arc. Natalie Luzar hit three, finishing with 11 points, while Savannah King led all scorers with 12.
The Royals and Chargers will meet at Tuesday at Dos Pueblos, with tip-off set for 4 p.m.
“It will be good for the crowd and the players should be excited,” said Miller. “It should be a good match-up. We’re excited.”
Dos Pueblos guard Chiara DiMarco drives in for a lay-up.
ARROYO GRANDE 49, DOS PUEBLOS 31
If eight is enough, seven didn’t quite cut it for depleted Dos Pueblos, as the Chargers fell to Arroyo Grande in Green Division play.
Having picked up a win over Redwood Christian on Friday with just six players, coach Maynard Pilapil promoted Jennifer Jimenez from the JV squad to add another option against the Eagles.
Jimenez grabbed a few solid rebounds, but DP looked completely gassed at certain points, particularly during a rough third quarter which the Chargers lost 18-3 to the much taller Eagles.
Sophomore standouts Jasmine Mata and Chiara DiMarco barely got any rest but kept chugging. Mata finished with 15 points and DiMarco added 12 while Kristen Gowdy grabbed 11 rebounds.
The Chargers were down 14-2 heading into the second quarter, but managed to turn things around and win the second period 15-11.
“If anything that second quarter was one of the best we played all season,” said Pilapil. “We’re doing what we can.”
Santa Barbara's Jackie Kerns leads the full-court press.
SANTA BARBARA 39, MORRO BAY 21
Rebecca Griffin nailed six 3-pointers and scored 20 points, but it was the Dons’ full-court press that made the biggest difference.
“We were patient on defense, and we tried to make it so that they had 18 seconds or less once they crossed half-court,” said Griffin.
It was successful, as the Pirates were flirting with shot-clock violations throughout the game. Morro Bay led 7-6 before the Dons went on a 13-0 run and took a 22-9 advantage into the break. Griffin made two nice entry passes to Tess Emerson (seven points, eight rebounds) early in the third.
Emerson also had two authoritative blocks, including one in the waning seconds of the game.
The Dons play Rio Mesa at San Marcos High in the Green Division semifinals. The game will begin at 5:45 p.m.
