A Santa Barbara teammate tries to console Amber Melgoza after she fouled out in the fourth quarter. Melgoza tied a state championship record with 30 points. (Andrew Gil photos)
Amber Melgoza tied a state Division 3 championship game record with 30 points and set records for free-throws made and attempted, but Santa Barbara fell short in the CIF State Division 3 final, losing to Modesto Christian, 64-55, on Friday at the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento.
Melgoza and the Dons struggled to make shots in the NBA arena, and Modesto Christian used its height advantage and depth to pull away in the second half.
Melgoza made 20 of 28 from the free-throw line, but she couldn’t get her shots to fall against taller defenders.
“My jump shots, layups, nothing was falling. I felt there was a cap over the basket,” she said.
“An arena is tough,” Santa Barbara coach Andrew Butcher said. “It’s tough to shoot on the long background; the ball bounces differently where the boards are put together. It’s too bad Santa Barbara doesn’t have a pro team so we can practice in that gym.”
Modesto Christian coach Robb Spencer said his game plan was to make things difficult for Melgoza.
“That was the plan,” he said. “She still got off too much going to her right all night, but what are you going to do?
The turning point of the game came in the third quarter after Melgoza scored off a beautiful feed from Desirea Coleman to bring the Dons to within two at 37-35. Modesto Christian went on a 7-0 run. Reserve Viviana Vasquez hit a jumper and the Crusaders forced a pair of turnovers, which they converted into points. Meagan Warwick scored on a drive and Candice White buried a 3-pointer to give them a 44-35 lead.
“I guess we’ve been a second-half team all year,” Robb Spencer said. “The second quarter we take a break, the second half we come to play.”
Melgoza ended the run with a free throw, but Stephanie Moore countered for Modesto Christian with a spinning layup to put it up by 10, 46-36.
The loss ended the best season in Santa Barbara High basketball history. The Dons finished 30-6, won their first CIF-Southern Section title and first CIF Regional title.
Amber Melgoza drives to the basket against Modesto Christian’s Lexi Tubbs.
“It’s just been a tremendous group,” Butcher said. “You want to reach your potential and we went by it about triple. The pieces all fit together, so we had an exciting time and a fun time. I couldn’t ask for more.
“Looking back on this will be pretty special. When I’m in the old folks home, it will be right above when I got married.”
The Dons had lots of vocal support in the arena. Several hundred fans made the long trip to cheer on the team and make them feel at home.
Modesto Christian (27-8) won its first state championship in its third visit to Sacramento.
The Crusaders won despite having three starters foul out. Their depth and size seem to wear down the Dons, who battled to the end.
Butcher felt the difference was rebounding. The Dons were outboarded 64-37.
“You know we want to rebound off our forehead and not above our heads, and we got out of the that,” he explained. “You got to give them credit for crashing the boards.”
Meagan Warwick and Lexi Tubbs each scored 11 points to lead a balanced Modesto offense. Lailoni Gaines, and Jasmine Hampton each scored 10 points.
Coleman scored 11 points and Jada Howard had 10 for the Dons.
Coach Andrew Butcher applauds the effort of his team in Friday’s CIF State Division 3 Final at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento.
Down 62-49 with 1:32 left, Melgoza kept attacking the basket and getting to the free-throw line. Coleman hit a shot to cut the deficit to 63-55 with 31 seconds left and the Dons got the ball back after forcing a five-second violation. But they couldn’t convert on a couple of chances and Melgoza fouled out.
“I think even though we were all in foul trouble, we played with heart, and that’s all you can ask for,” said Coleman, the lone senior in the starting lineup and one of six seniors on the squad.
In a frenetic, turnover-filled first half, Santa Barbara trailed 27-25 at halftime.
Santa Barbara’s free-throw shooting kept it close. The Dons fell behind 18-11, but they went on an 8-0 run, making six straight free throws and getting a Jada Howard basket off a nice feed from Kimberly Gebhardt to go ahead 21-18 with 3:53 to go in the second quarter.
White nailed two free throws for Modesto Christian to make it 21-20. Lexi Tubbs made a free throw to tie the score and put the Crusaders into the lead with a three-point play.
Howard scored off a feed from Jocelin Petatan to cut the margin to 24-23. But Modesto scored the next three points on a free throw by Tubbs and an offensive rebound.
Coleman made a spectacular scoop shot to cut it to 27-25.
The season was a magical one for the Dons. Butcher pointed out that the team wasn’t very good during the summer but it came together in the winter. And it kept getting better in the spring.
Thanks to Andrew Gil for photos, on-site game information and postgame interviews.
