Amber Melgoza scored 35 points, and Santa Barbara held off Chino, 60-52, in a second-round game of the CIF Division 2AA girls basketball playoffs on Wednesday night.
Melgoza was on fire, making 14 of 22 shots. She also had nine rebounds, five steals and three assists. Jocelin Petatan added 12 points and three rebounds
Jada Howard contributed at both ends of the floor. She had five assists, five rebounds and five steals. Kimberly Gebhardt was a force with nine rebounds, six steals and two blocked shots.
Santa Barbara led 29-24 at halftime, extended the lead to 45-36 in the third quarter and held off Chino (17-8) in the final stanza.
“We changed our defense to a half-court press in the third quarter,” Santa Barbara assistant Jess Martinez said. “That brought us back into the game. We stole the ball a lot there.”
Santa Barbara (22-5) will play at Summit in Fontana on Saturday.
