Santa Barbara High overcame a slow start and pulled away from Cabrillo, 54-34, in an opening-round girls basketball game at the Lompoc Tournament on Thursday.
“It was 6-4 near the end of the first quarter when I called my second time out,” Santa Barbara coach Andrew Butcher said.
The Dons picked up their game and took a 12-6 lead at the end of the quarter, expanding it to 47-23 by the third period.
“We did OK, but we got a ways to go,” said Butcher.
It was Santa Barbara’s first win of the season.
Sophomore Amber Melgoza scored 25 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Dons (1-1). Senior Dezzy Coleman had eight points and seven assists, sophomore Jada Howard scored eight points and freshman Kimberly Gebhardt had an impressive eight steals.
“She plays hard and she does a lot of good things,” said Butcher of Gebhardt.
Santa Barbara plays Nordhoff in its second game on Friday.
