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We Play Hard!
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Ventura 79, @
Allan Hancock 46
February 23, 2008
Box
Score
You
can go home again. Pirate sophomore Jenelle
Conklin proved that Saturday night.
After being sidelined with injuries the first
three times VC played Allan Hancock College in
her career, Conklin, who is from Santa Maria,
finally played against her hometown college;
making the most of her opportunity with a
stellar overall game of nine points, eight
rebounds, six assists, and five steals.
Her performance paced the Pirates in their 79-46
win in the 2007-08 regular season finale.
The Pirates finish the season with a 27-5
record, with a perfect 12-0 WSC North Division
mark.
Ventura (12-0, 27-5) jumped out to a 10-4 lead
four minutes into the game with five different
players scoring a basket. Consecutive
3-pointers by Hancock, however, brought the Lady
Bulldogs back to a 10-10 tie less than a minute
later. Randi
Hicks became the first Pirate with two
buckets in breaking the tie at the 14:28 mark,
beginning a 6-0 run in which two more Pirates
entered the scoring column. But the 'Dogs
hung around with hot shooting and by taking
advantage of 10 first-half Pirate
turnovers. VC led by five points, 24-19,
with 6:20 remaining in the period before they
closed the half on a 14-4 sprint. Indira
Kaljo had six points in the run which gave
Ventura a 38-23 advantage at the intermission.
Allan Hancock (1-11, 1-26) surprisingly remained
in the game through much of the second half, as
well. The final period was even at the
8:40 mark with VC holding on to a 54-39 lead
when the Pirates ran the shot clock down next to
nothing. Donielle
Griggs recovered a loose ball near mid-court
as the clock ticked down, launching a 30-footer
at the buzzer that found the bottom of the net,
giving Ventura a spark. After a Lady
Bulldog free throw, Kaljo connected on a jumper,
followed by another Griggs trifecta, putting the
Pirates ahead 62-40. Following a brief 4-0
Hancock run, consecutive steals by Conklin led
to a Griggs bucket and a pair of Michelle
Santizo charity tosses. Eja
Wong connected on another 3-pointer off of a
Sara
Nicholson assist, and Christine
McPherson nailed a long-range shot on the
next possession giving VC a 72-44 advantage with
4:04 left in the game. Conklin hit the
next three points for VC, followed by a pair of
free throws by Wong and a Hicks jumper at the
buzzer. The Pirates outscored the Lady
Bulldogs 25-7 in the game's last 8:40 to make
the score 79-46 as the final horn sounded.
Kaljo was the Pirates leading scorer with a
quiet 17 points and Wong netted 10 points.
Conklin scored nine points while Griggs and
Hicks each added eight to the balanced Pirate
attack. All 11 Pirates scored in the
game. Conklin led the Pirate glass attack
with her eight boards and Griggs and Kaljo each
grabbed six rebounds. VC dominated the
glass as a team, out-rebounding Hancock
47-23. Conklin's six assists led the way
for Ventura while Wong added four dimes.
Santizo had seven steals to go along with
Conklin's five thefts.
The 27 regular season wins is the most for a
Pirate team since the 2002-03 team posted a 30-2
regular season mark. The five losses are
the least since the 2003-04 squad had a 26-3
regular season mark. The 2003 team lost in
the state Final 4 while the 2004 Pirates lost in
the Sweet 16 round of the playoffs. VC
also posted a perfect 12-0 Western State
Conference North Division mark, winning the
school's 18th consecutive conference
championship. It was the first perfect
conference season since 2005.
The Pirates, winners of 18 of their last 19
games, will enter the Southern California
Regionals next week, most likely as the #4
seed. That would mean a possibility of two
home games to reach the State Elite Eight in
Stockton. All details for the playoffs
will be released Monday afternoon, Feb. 25, and
posted soon thereafter here on www.VCweplayhard.com.
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