Santa Barbara High outscored Ventura by 10 points in the second half, but it still wasn’t enough to overcome a 15-point halftime deficit, and the Dons fell 56-51 in a Channel League girls basketball game between two top-ranked teams in the CIF Southern Section.
“You can’t play a bad half against Ventura. They’re a solid team,” Santa Barbara coach Andrew Butcher said.
Ventura (14-2, 1-0), ranked No. 2 in Division 1A, snapped an eight-game winning streak by the Dons, the top-ranked team in the 3AA Division.
The Cougars scored on high percentage shots and free throws to build a 15-point lead at halftime (32-17). They scored the last five points of the second period after Santa Barbara’s Dezzy Coleman picked up her third foul and went to the bench.
Butcher said he told his team at halftime that the “only good news” about the first half was it was down by 15.
“Every shot they made was a layup or a free throw,” Butcher said of Ventura in the first half. “They didn’t make a single outside shot.”
Post players Cassandra McCambridge and Marki Meyer did most of the damage for the Cougars. The 6-1 McCambridge scored a game-high 21 points.
Santa Barbara (15-3, 1-1) chipped away at Ventura’s lead in the second half to make it a closer game. The Dons were better on the boards, too, grabbing 21 rebounds in the second half compared to only eight in the first.
Offensively, Jada Howard scored 17 points to lead Santa Barbara. Coleman had 14 points and five assists and Amber Melgoza was held to 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Santa Barbara plays host to Rio Mesa on Saturday.
