Ventura 67, @ Los Angeles Pierce 49

February 1, 2006

Box Score

     On the way to the game, the Pirates stopped off at the bakery and picked up about three dozen turnovers, and gave all but three away to the Pierce College Brahmas.  But through all the pastries, Ventura rallied from a three point halftime deficit to defeat Pierce 67-49 in WSC North play.  The VC win coupled with a Santa Barbara loss to Moorpark, puts the Pirates a game-and-a-half ahead of idle Cuesta and two games ahead of SBCC and Moorpark in the chase for the conference crown with four games remaining.

     Ventura (18-9, 7-1) jumped out to a 7-2 advantage on Sandy Perry's lay-up with 16:51 left in the first half.  The Pirate defense did not allow a field goal for nearly six minutes, and VC led 13-4 on Medina Britt's driving shot nearly three minutes later.  Then a 7-0 Brahma run, spurred largely by Pirate turnovers, brought Pierce (11-15, 2-6) right back into the game.  Rebecca Kolbeck hit a free throw to give Ventura a 21-18 lead with 9:00 on the clock, and the Pirates would only score five points until intermission, allowing Pierce to go on a 11-3 run to take the halftime lead, 29-26.  In the half, Ventura committed 22 turnovers, four more than they had the entire double-overtime game in their last outing against Santa Barbara, and they allowed nine offensive rebounds to the much shorter Brahma squad.

       To begin the second half, the Pirates turned over the initial inbounds pass, and Pierce scored giving them a 31-26 advantage 20 seconds into the period.  Tina Stetson hit a pair of free throws with 16:13 remaining to tie the score at 33, and Karla Martinez hit a charity toss a minute later to put VC ahead, 34-33.  After a Brahma basket, Mallory Flot scored on a lay-up to give Ventura the lead for good with 14:41 on the clock.  That began a 15-3 Pirate run over the next six-plus minutes during which VC put the game away.  The final score of 67-49 made it look easier than it actually was for the Pirates, who have now won seven consecutive games.

     Veronica Williams had her best night as a Pirate, scoring 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor and 3-of-4 shooting from the foul line.  She also grabbed eight rebounds, dished out a pair of assists and picked up three steals.  Perry used a 7-of-8 performance from the free throw line to help her to 14 points and she also contributed tow assists and three steals.  Stetson pulled down a team-high 13 boards and Martinez contributed 10 points.  McKena Richardson had nine points for VC.

     Ventura returns home on Saturday Feb. 4 for a game with conference rival Allan Hancock College.  They travel to Oxnard on Wednesday Feb. 8.  Both games will tip-off at 5:30 pm and both will be followed by the VC men at 7:30 pm.  The Pirates will host Citrus College on Feb. 11 at 7:00 pm in the annual Barbeque Fundraiser.  The tri-tip and chicken barbeque will be held from 4:00 to 6:30 pm in the VC Cafeteria before the game.