Maybe the fact that she’s a black belt in karate helps Ivette Gil play beyond her years on the basketball court.
The Santa Barbara High freshman scored 17 points on Wednesday as the Dons took third in the Tournament of Champions Green Division with a 47-45 overtime win over Arroyo Grande.
“Well, I’ve played club basketball since fifth grade, but coming into high school I didn’t really know what to expect… I still get nervous, but everything’s been great,” she said.
Sharp-shooting Rebecca Griffin had injured her hand slightly on Tuesday against Rio Mesa and was ice cold through the first three quarters on Wednesday, but she hit the biggest shot of the game — a 3-pointer from the top of the key — with 18 seconds left in regulation that tied the score at 43-43 and forced overtime.
She had hit another big trey with 1:25 to go which pulled Santa Barbara within one at 41-40. The Dons never had the lead in regulation.
“We played her tough the whole game, but she hit that key shot from deep. She’s a really good player. I thought our girls did a really good job defending her,” said Eagles coach Dwight MacDonald. “Her 3-point shot didn’t win the game — our missed shots from close in lost the game.”
Indeed, Arroyo Grande missed a handful of gimmes in the post near the end of the fourth and in overtime.
“Maybe it was luck, because those last two were easy-money shots,” said Santa Barbara coach Andrew Butcher. “But maybe our press paid off and got them tired.”
Jackie Kerns had eight points and 10 rebounds for the Dons, while Tess Emerson had seven points with eight rebounds. Griffin dished out six assists and grabbed five steals.
Gil was happy with how things played out in her first TOC.
“I’ve always heard about the Tournament of Champions and what a big deal it was, so this is a pretty big accomplishment,” she said.
SANTA BARBARA 47, ARROYO GRANDE 45 (OT)
ARROYO GRANDE — MVentura 6, Jacobs 2, MacDonald 6, RVentura 8, Carr 4, Sverchek 15, Wolf 2. Totals 19 4-6 45.
SANTA BARBARA — Gil 17, Lloyd 2, Griffin 13, Emerson 7, Kerns 8. Totals 19 7-12 47.
Arroyo Grande…8 11 14 8 4 — 45
Santa Barbara…8 6 15 11 7 — 47
