In a tight game, it took some big shots from two players in the fourth quarter to give Santa Barbara High’s girls basketball team the edge it needed to get past Mira Costa and advance to the gold division semifinals of the Tournament of Champions.
Freshman Desirea Coleman knocked down two 3-pointers and Sylvia Hoover hit a trey to help the Dons pull away to a 53-46 victory over the Mustangs Tuesday night at J.R. Richards Gym.
The win sets up an all-county semifinal clash with defending CIF champion and top-seeded St. Joseph Wednesday night at 7:30. St. Joseph whipped Stockdale 72-52 on Tuesday.
The other semifinal pits Buena against Arroyo Grande at 5:45 p.m. at Santa Barbara. Buena advanced with a 59-55 win over Chaminade, while Arroyo Grande edged Yorba Linda 46-43.
Santa Barbara and Mira Costa changed leads 10 times in their quarterfinal game. The Dons took the lead for good at 33-31 when Tess Emerson hit a turnaround shot in the key with 16 seconds left in the third quarter.
Coleman provided some breathing room when she drilled a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter, and she hit another shot from behind the arc for a 42-33 lead.
“Desirea has a lot of confidence,” Santa Barbara coach Andrew Butcher said of his freshman guard. “She is a kid who shoots better in games than in practice. She is a gamer. She is a tough kid and she is a competitor. Those were huge shots.”
After a free throw by Mira Costa’s Joelle Herron, Hoover hit a triple to put the Dons up 45-34 with 2:45 to play.
“Hootie (Hoover’s nickname), she’s just been solid,” Butcher said. “She’s been taking high quality shots, she’s running the offense and helping on defense.”
The Dons made things interesting down the stretch by missing the front end of three straight one-and-one free throw situations, and Mira Costa made three 3-pointers to cut the gap to 47-43 with 1:02 left in the game.
Ivette Gil knocked down four free throws and Riley Lloyd swished a pair in the last 25 seconds to hold off the Mustangs.
The second tournament win was another sign of progress for the Dons (8-2).
“Last Wednesday we were not very good (in a loss against Camarillo),” Butcher said. “The last two game we’ve been better, so that’s what you hope for. This is a funny group. They’re almost all playing different positions from last year, the returners. The other seven are brand new. We don’t what to expect, but they’ve been doing a lot good things.”
Ivette Gil led Santa Barbara with 17 points and Emerson added 15 and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Kylie Nakamine hit three 3-pointers and scored 18 points and Herron chipped in 13 for Mira Costa.
Buena 59, Chaminade 55
The Bulldogs battled back from a 23-17 first-quarter deficit to reach the gold division semifinals. Keani Albanez scored 15 points and Taylor McGuire added 13 for Buena.
Annie Tarakchian and Travis Newman both scored 15 points for Chaminade.
Arroyo Grande 46, Yorba Linda 43
The Eagles held off Yorba Linda after leading 32-17 at halftime. Lindsay Wolf scored 14 points and Madi Wolf had 12 for Arroyo Grande.
Alexus Atchley scored 12 points and Hailey Vaccher and Emily Feneck had 11 points apiece.
St. Joseph 72, Stockdale 52
The Knights blew the game open with a 19-4 third quarter. Heather Madrigal had 21 points and Aly Beebe 16 for St. Joseph.
Jazmin Miller scored 19 for Stockdale.
