We Play Hard!

@ Ventura 67, Saddleback 51

SoCal Regional Finals

March 8, 2008

Box Score

     Jenelle Conklin knocked the ball from the Saddleback offensive player.  Diving on the floor after the loose ball, she flipped it behind her head and over her shoulder to Lindsay Trout streaking down the court for an easy lay-up.  On the next possession Donielle Griggs picked off a Gaucho pass, launching an assist to Trout once again for the easy two.  Ventura was ahead 63-45 with 1:58 remaining in the game.  There was enough energy in the sold-out Athletic Event Center to generate 1.21 gigawatts of electricity to send the Pirates back to the future, back to the State Elite Eight Tournament for the first time since 2003.  Doc Brown and Marty McFly would be proud.

     It was an electric atmosphere for the whole game.  In fact, it was a struggle for a great part of the evening for the Pirates who had trouble getting untracked.  Conklin's turn-around jumper from the left block got Ventura (29-5) on the board first, but Saddleback answered with a 3-pointer to take an early advantage.  Julie Heurung, also known as "Big Time" to her teammates, delivered big time, scoring the next six VC points as the Pirates led 8-5 with 15:55 remaining in the opening half.  Conklin found Heurung off of a jump pass leading to another Pirate bucket giving VC a 16-12 advantage at the 9:36 mark before Saddleback (24-8) used an 8-0 run over the next 2:44 to take a 20-16 lead with 6:52 remaining.  Conklin and Heurung teamed up to spur a 13-4 run to close the half, save for a Michelle Santizo free throw, giving Ventura a 29-24 lead at the break.  Heurung's 17 first half points paced the Pirates while Conklin had seven points, seven rebounds, and four assists in the opening period.  They were the only Pirates to connect on a field goal attempt in the half, shooting a combined 10-18, while the rest of the team struggled with 0-11 shooting.

     Ventura seemed to break out of its funk at the onset of the second half as Jessica Jameson and Sara Nicholson connected for consecutive buckets on VC's first two possessions.  Conklin added a pair of charity tosses and VC seemed to take control, 35-24, with 18:03 remaining.  The Gauchos answered, however, sandwiching 3-pointers around an Eja Wong free throw to pull back within six, 36-30 a little over a minute later.  Indira Kaljo, the Pirates' leading scorer, got her offense going with 11:58 remaining, connecting on her first field goal in four attempts, a 3-pointer, giving Ventura a 44-32 lead.  Kaljo connected on two free throws three minutes later to give the Pirates a 50-33 cushion with 8:59 left in the contest.  

     Saddleback, playing without their first-team all-state point guard who was injured during warm-ups, had one more run in them, closing the gap back to 10 points, 55-45, with a 12-5 run over the next five minutes.  That set the stage for the defensive heroics and Trout's fast break lay-ups that sealed the win for the Pirates.  Following a two pairs of free throws from Conklin and Kaljo, Trout was on the receiving end of great defensive play from Conklin and Griggs that brought the 1,686 fans at the sold-out Athletic Event Center to their feet.  The rest was academic as the Pirates rode the wave of energy to the 67-51 victory.

     Heurung posted a career high 19 points to lead the Pirates while Kaljo salvaged 15 points from a sub-par shooting night and Conklin netted 11 points.  Conklin and Santizo led VC with eight rebounds apiece and Kaljo grabbed seven boards for VC, who outrebounded the Gauchos 45-25.  Conklin handed out five assists while Wong dished out four dimes.  Wong also had five steals for the Pirates.

     The Pirates (#3-South) will play Fresno City College (#2-North) in the State Quarterfinals on Thursday March 13 in Stockton at the University of the Pacific's Spanos Center.  The other quarterfinal in VC's bracket will feature top-ranked Mt. San Antonio (#1 south) versus College of the Siskiyous (#4-North).  San Joaquin Delta (#3-North) will take on Pasadena City College (#2 South) and Foothill (#1-North) will battle Cerritos (#4-South) on the other side of the Elite Eight.  Game times will be released on Sunday. 

     All the details of the Pirates' first trip to the state's premier event since 2003, their record-setting 12th overall, will be posted on www.VCweplayhard.com throughout the coming week.