Santa Barbara High’s girls basketball team has got this second-half comeback formula down in Channel League play.
The Dons regained their composure after a flurry of turnovers, battled back from a 10-point deficit in the third quarter and stunned Dos Pueblos 59-53 at J.R. Richards Gym on Tuesday night.
Santa Barbara did it by playing tougher on defense, rebounding and making their free throws down the stretch. It also took advantage of Dos Pueblos’ foul troubles and off-target perimeter shooting in the fourth quarter.
The Dons outscored the Chargers 26-13 in the final eight minutes. Sophomore Ivette Gil led the way with 13 of her 17 points in the quarter, nine of them coming from the free-throw line.
The Chargers made seven 3-pointers in the first half but only two in the second, with one coming just before the final buzzer.
“When they hit threes, their defense is better, their rebounding is better, their fast break is better. It energizes them, Santa Barbara coach Andy Butcher said of the Chargers (14-5, 0-2). “When they don’t have that, their defense goes down hill, their rebounding goes down hill … everything goes down hill.
“(The 3-pointer’s) an emotional shot and they’re good at it. You want to take that away.”
The Dons (14-6, 3-0) did that by extending their defense against guards Jessica Escalante, Chiara DiMarco and Jasmine Mata.
When the shots stopped dropping for DP, Santa Barbara grabbed the rebounds, pushed the ball the other way, made shots and got to the free-throw line.
“Our offense got stagnant, especially in the fourth quarter DP coach Jelani Hicks said. “They did a good job clamping down on us. We just couldn’t get any open looks and when we did they all seemed to rim out.”
It also didn’t help DP that their leading 3-point shooter, Jessica Escalante, and inside forces, Talitha Draper and Kristen Gowdy, were in foul trouble for most of the second half. Escalante scored only three points in the second half after pumping in three 3-pointers and 13 points in the first. She and Draper would eventually foul out.
“Obviously, foul trouble hurt them,” Butcher said. “When they have foul trouble they’re a totally different team. The fact they had two of their best kids on the bench makes us a lot better.”
Santa Barbara’s comeback started after Mata hit a 3-pointer to give Dos Pueblos a 40-30 lead with 2:07 left in the third quarter. The Dons appeared to be falling apart as they went through a sequence in which they committed three straight turnovers and missed a layup.
The Dons threw the ball away to start the second quarter and Mata capitalized with a basket to give DP a 43-33 lead.
But Santa Barbara shook off its mistakes and started playing smart basketball. With Gowdy and Draper in foul trouble, Tess Emerson took the ball inside for baskets and Gil started driving to the hoop.
The Dons scored eight straight points (six by Gil) to pull within 43-41 with 6:01 to go in the fourth quarter. Gil scored on another drive and, after a steal, Zoe Echternacht converted following an Emerson offensive rebound to give them a 45-44 lead.
Emerson fed Riley Lloyd inside to make it 47-44 and then scored herself to complete a 16-1 run.
Emerson led the Dons with 18 points and 11 rebounds, Gil scored 17, Desirea Coleman had seven points and six rebounds and no turnovers and Hoover had seven points and three assists.
Escalante scored 16 points and Chiara DiMarco had 14 for the Chargers. Gowdy had seven points and 10 rebounds.
Santa Barbara was up 54-48 when the freshman Coleman delivered the knockout blow with less than a minute left. She took a pass from Hoover and hit a basket just before shot clock expired.
“It’s like we’re a second half team,” said Gil, who last week helped the Dons rally from a 30-13 deficit at Buena. “We stepped up our game big time.”
“When we get way behind, we got them right where we want them,” Butcher joked about the comebacks. “If you play the game right, you’re going to score baskets, and if you can rebound and play a little defense, you can catch up.”
That’s the formula.
