Girls’ basketball: Santa Maria St. Joseph 27, Windward 20 at halftime

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Santa Maria St. Joseph opened the Southern Section Division 4A game at Cal State Long Beach on fire, taking an early 21-8 first quarter lead.

But Windward rallied back in the second, outscoring the Knights 12-6 to reduce the lead to 27-20 at halftime.

The Wildcats’ 6-foot-6 center Imani Stafford is doing an excellent job on the defensive end but has only two points. She needs to come alive offensively for fourth-seeded Windward to stand a chance against second-seeded Santa Maria St. Joseph.

Alyson Beebe has nine points and Kelsi English has seven for Santa Maria St. Joseph (25-4). Courtney Jaco leads Windward (18-9) with seven points.

-- Melissa Rohlin