Tess Emerson scored 18 of her 27 points in the second half on Saturday, capping off an MVP performance and a Gold Coast Tournament title in a 61-57 victory over West Ranch for the Santa Barbara High girls basketball team.
Emerson was named tournament MVP and Ivette Gil was All-Tournament for Santa Barbara (7-1). Gill posted 17 points in the title game.
West Ranch suffered its first loss of the season and falls to 7-1.
“This group has really gotten better in the last two weeks,” said Dons head coach Andrew Butcher. “We hardly didn’t miss a shot in the second half.”
Santa Barbara connected on 13-of-20 field goal attempts in the final two quarters and made 10-of-13 free throws.
Riley Lloyd was Santa Barbara’s leader on defense. Lloyd pulled down 12 rebounds and tallied five steals. Butcher was happy to see all nine of his players on the court in the first half, helping to keep legs fresh for the Dons’ second half push.
“There are a lot of heroes tonight. It was fun,” Butcher said.
Santa Barbara prepares for the Tournament of Champions, which starts Dec. 20, with a home game on Wednesday against Camarillo.
What happened to photos? I haven’t seen any of my kids on here all year. I know it wasn’t your best skill, but one or two made for a good heading.
KELLY Slater has challenged other top surfers by saying his aim is to win the first world tour contest of the year this weekend – then his 10th championship.