Santa Barbara High knocked down eight 3-pointers in the first half and outscored Pioneer Valley 25-9 in the second quarter en route to a 68-54 victory in its pool-play opener at the Gold Coast Classic at San Marcos on Wednesday night.
Amber Melgoza hit four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 24 points for the Dons. Dezzy Coleman tallied 20 points and made two 3-pointers and Jada Howard sank four treys en route to 17 points.
Santa Barbara made 9 of 16 3-point shots for the game.
The Dons took control of the game in the second quarter and led 43-16 at halftime.
“It was a real good first half,” Santa Barbara coach Andrew Butcher said.
But even with the big lead, Butcher cautioned his team about a Pioneer Valley comeback.
“We beat them last year in overtime,” he said. “It was good we were hitting our shots because they are a tough team.”
Coleman had four assists, Howard grabbed six rebounds and Kimberly Gebhardt hauled in seven boards for Santa Barbara (4-1).
The Dons play Oaks Christian in their second tournament game on Thursday at Rio Mesa.
