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Ventura 72, San
Jose 50
November 30, 2007 Quarterfinals, Gilcrest Invitational
@ Sequoias
Box
Score
Last
night it was the dynamic duo of Eja
Wong and Michelle
Santizo, tonight it was the K-C connection, Indira
Kaljo and Jenelle
Conklin, leading the Pirates to a 72-50 victory over San
Jose City College in the quarterfinals of the Gilcrest
Invitational at College of the Sequoias in
Visalia. In a season that has seen every team member
contribute, Ventura will need a solid team effort in their
tournament semifinal Saturday night against Northern
California's top-ranked San Joaquin Delta College, who
defeated Moorpark 90-46 in their quarterfinal contest.
Saturday's tip off is scheduled for 8:00 pm following the
other semifinal of Mt. SAC (#2 South) and Fresno (#3 North).
Ventura (7-2) started out the contest on a hot
streak, as five players contributed to the
Pirates' first 11 points. VC jumped out to
a 9-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game
before the Lady Jags scored their first bucket
with 14:29 remaining in the half. San Jose
(4-5) kept the game close, however, closing to
within one point, 24-23, at the 4:00 mark.
The Pirates countered the threat with a Donielle
Griggs 3-pointer and a Santizo bucket on
consecutive possessions to make the score
29-23. San Jose free throws failed to
break VC's momentum that followed up with
Conklin charity toss, a Kaljo trifecta, and a
bucket by center Julie
Heurung. Ventura closed the period
with an 11-3 run to take a 35-26 lead to
intermission.
Ventura left little doubt as to the outcome when
the second period began. Conklin hit a
driving lay-up down the left baseline a mere
nine seconds into the stanza and connected with
another bucket on the next possession. VC
outscored the Lady Jags 15-2 in the first
four-plus minutes of the half posting a 50-28
advantage with 15:41 left on the clock.
The Pirates struggled offensively after they put
the game away, surviving a six minute scoring
drought during which San Jose could only
muster six points of their own, closing the gap
to 15 points, 56-41. Conklin's
old-fashioned 3-point play off of a Wong assist
broke the drought with 5:49 remaining, and
Ventura outscored the Jags 16-9 down the
stretch. The Pirates posted a final score
of 72-50.
Kaljo led the Pirate attack with 20 points and
five rebounds while Conklin netted 18 points on
7-9 shooting. Heurung led the Pirate glass
attack with six rebounds and Wong dished out
five assists. Santizo is a wanted for
theft in San Jose after grabbing seven steals in
the game.
The Pirates advance to the final four of the
Invitational against Northern California's
top-ranked team San Joaquin Delta. It will
be the first match up between the Pirates and
Mustangs since VC defeated Delta in the 2002
state semifinals in Stockton. The south's
#2 team, Mt. San Antonio will battle the north's
#3 Fresno City College in the tournament's other
semifinal.
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