We Play Hard!

Ventura 66, San Francisco 61

@ Canyons Crossover Classic

December 23, 2007

Box Score

     The game was not a work of art.  The Pirates, fresh off an emotional victory over Fresno the night before (READ), came out flat, shooting a miniscule 30 percent from the floor (9-30) in the first half, and trailed City College of San Francisco by as many as 12 points early.  But through perseverance, teamwork, and solid post play, Ventura was able to grind out a 66-61 come-from-behind victory over Northern California's fifth-ranked team in the back half of the Canyons Crossover Classic in Santa Clarita Sunday afternoon.

     Ventura (13-4) was cold from the opening tip, misfiring on its first six field goal attempts.  They were down 7-2 early before buckets from Jenelle Conklin and Julie Heurung, and a Conklin charity toss tied the score at seven with 16:07 remaining in the opening period.  However, San Francisco (12-5) was on their game early, and took advantage of the Pirates' lethargy opening up a 27-15 lead.  Heurung hit a shot from the right post at the 6:07 mark, and that was followed by a 3-pointer from Indira Kaljo to give VC some life.  The Rams held fast for the rest of the half and the Pirates trailed at intermission 35-28.

     Another Kaljo trifecta and a fade-away jumper from Randi Hicks opened up the second half for VC, bringing them back to within two, 35-33, as they held CCSF scoreless for the first four minutes of the final stanza.  The Rams held their slim advantage for the next ten minutes of the game before Ventura made its move.  Trailing 50-45, Heurung nailed a 3-pointer from a Kaljo assist at the 7:47 mark to bring the Pirates back to within two.  After two scoreless minutes at both ends of the floor, Sara Nicholson drew a charge on defense, and Conklin hit a pair of free throws when the Pirates took the ball to the other end of the floor to tie the game at 50. 

     San Francisco hit a couple of charity tosses on the next possession to take the lead back before Heurung's old-fashioned 3-point play gave the Pirates their first lead of the game, 53-52 with 3:28 remaining in the game.  CCSF retook the lead on another pair of free throws, 54-43 at the 3:07 mark, before Conklin gave Ventura the lead for good on a strong drive with 2:47 remaining.  Two Conklin foul shots and a short jumper by Eja Wong gave the Pirates a seemingly commanding 59-54 advantage with 1:21 on the clock.  A San Francisco 3-pointer brought the Rams back to within two, 59-57 with 49 seconds left, and missed Pirate free throws and a careless foul kept CCSF within striking distance.  Kaljo, who was fighting one of her toughest offensive nights of the season, hit a pair of crucial free throws with 16 seconds on the clock, and Michelle Santizo closed the door on the Rams with another pair of free shots as Ventura survived the game with a 66-61 victory.

     Heurung led all scorers with 18 points on 6-9 shooting, and a 5-6 night at the foul line.  Conklin hit seven of 11 free throws en route to 15 points and Kaljo finished the game with 10.  Kaljo had seven rebounds and Santizo grabbed six boards while Wong handed out a pair of dimes while netting eight points.

     The Pirates are off for a couple of days for Christmas before returning to practice preparing for the Ventura Crossover December 28 and 29.  VC will host LA Valley at 7:00 pm on Friday, and that game will be preceded at 5:00 pm with the Antelope Valley-Orange Coast contest.  On Saturday LA Valley will battle Antelope Valley at 5:00 with the Pirates (VC) and the Pirates (Orange Coast) fighting it out at 7:00.  Orange Coast is the #2-ranked team in Southern California.  Ventura's Annual Barbeque Fundraiser will be Saturday January 5 as VC hosts North #2 Foothill.