Santa Barbara hasn't had much luck against Ventura recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. The Santa Barbara Dons will challenge the Ventura Cougars at 4:00 p.m.
It's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 79-36, which was the final score in Santa Barbara's tilt against Oxnard on Thursday. While losing is never fun, the Dons can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 860th, while the Yellowjackets are ranked 91st).
Meanwhile, Ventura waltzed into their game on Thursday with 14 straight wins... but they left with 15. They breezed by the Spartans to the tune of 73-15. The Cougars have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine matchups by 22 points or more this season.
Santa Barbara better keep an eye on Kailee Staniland. She was instrumental in Ventura's win, going 6 for 10 from beyond the arc on her way to 30 points. The contest was Staniland's fourth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Brinley Anderson, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten rebounds.
Ventura's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-2. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.7 points per game. As for Santa Barbara, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 2-13.
Santa Barbara might still be hurting after the 53-33 defeat they got from Ventura in their previous meeting back in January of 2024. Can Santa Barbara avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
