SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

In other girls’ first-round games:

Santa Ynez 79, Village Christian 58--Village Christian climbed a mountain Tuesday night on the way to hoping to meet Santa Ynez.

But the Crusaders couldn’t quite get over the hump against the top-seeded Pirates (30-0), who pulled away in the second half.

Village Christian, the Southern Section runner-up in Division IV-A, finished 19-9.

Crusader standout Lindy James led all scorers with 33 points and also grabbed 10 rebounds.

“It’s always fun to play in front of a lot of people,” James said. “Coming into a different gym, there’s a lot less pressure than playing at home. We had nothing to lose.”

James, a 5-foot-10 guard, tallied the first 14 points for Village Christian, which led, 16-13, after the first quarter.

Teammate Shannon Spielbuehler hit two three-pointers in the second quarter.

The teams went into halftime deadlocked, 29-29.

Sparked by an 11-3 spurt, Santa Ynez outscored Village Christian, 28-12, in the third quarter to take control.

The Crusaders got no closer than 12 points in the final period.

“Santa Ynez started hitting open shots in the third quarter and it got away from us,” Village Christian Coach John Domke said.

Senior center Kristi Rohr, who has signed with UC Santa Barbara, led Santa Ynez with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Denise Perez tied a school record with six three-pointers and finished with 22 points.