Sarah Stumme scored nine points in the second quarter to help rally top-seeded Orange Lutheran over Harvard Westlake, 53-48, and reach the Gold Division semifinals of the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions.
The defending tournament champions got 10 points from Courtney Lofink and Gloria Bates to stave off a late charge by Harvard Westlake, which led 15-9 after the first quarter.
To return to the final, Orange Lutheran will have to get past a tough, athletic Sierra Canyon team. The Trailblazers raced past fourth-seeded San Clemente, 69-53, behind the outside shooting of Gabi Nevill. The shooting guard pumped in 24 points to complement the inside game of Kennedy Burke and Cheyanne Wallace.
The other semifinal will pit Redondo and Ventura. Redondo got 16 points from Nao Shiota and upset third-seeded Edison, 50-39. Second-seeded Ventura was firing on all cylinders and rolled over Rosary, 58-28.
Orange Lutheran and Sierra Canyon play at 6 p.m. and Ventura and Redondo square off at Santa Barbara High’s J.R. Richards Gym.
Channel League rivals Santa Barbara and Buena will go at each other in a consolation bracket semifinal game at 3 p.m. at San Marcos.
Santa Barbara held Arroyo Grande to four points in the fourth quarter and romped to a 46-25 win. Amber Melgoza scored 15 points, grabbed six rebounds and had seven steals to lead the Dons (8-2). Dezzy Coleman had six steals and seven assists to go with her 12 points. Jada Howard and Kimberly Gebhardt grabbed seven and six rebounds, respectively.
Buena took down Clovis North behind a balanced scoring attack. Leah Kopp led the Bulldogs with 12 points, while Aaliya Staples and Holly Guzman each chipped in nine points.
In other consolation action, Brittany Rodriguez had 14 points and Cecilia Lucas tallied 12 to lead Rio Mesa to a 53-48 overtime win over Pioneer Valley. Shynia Tell of the Pioneers led all scorers with 23 points.
Oak Park beat Pacifica 39-29 to gain a spot in the consolation semifinals.
