Santa Barbara High returned to the basketball court the day after Christmas and won its opening-round game at the Harold Oliveira Classic at Righetti High, beating Atascadero, 58-31, on Thursday.
Amber Melgoza poured in 21 points, grabbed four rebounds and had five assists to lead the Dons (11-2). Fellow sophomore Jada Howard added 13 points, hauled in nine rebounds and had eight steals. Freshman Kimberly Gebhardt battled on the boards for nine rebounds.
Santa Barbara will play two games on Friday, taking on Pioneer Valley for the second time at noon and host Righetti at 3 p.m. The Dons beat Pioneer Valley by 14 at the Gold Coast Tournament.
