Sophomore Amber Melgoza poured in 40 points, leading Santa Barbara High’s girls basketball team to a 58-40 win over Irvine in a CIF 3AA Division quarterfinal game on Wednesday night in Irvine.
The top-seeded Dons (24-5) will host Yorba Linda in the semifinals on Saturday night.
The Dons trailed 15-14 after the first quarter. Melgoza then took over. She scored 14 points in the second quarter to help the team take a 31-23 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, Melgoza dominated inside and outscored Irvine 11-0, and the Dons extended their lead to 48-34.
Besides her scoring, Melgoza grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds and had four steals.
Jocelin Petatan played a solid game with five assists, six steals and six rebounds. She also went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.
Dezzy Coleman ran the attack for the Dons and dished out seven assists.
“She was outstanding,” Santa Barbara assistant Jess Martinez said.
