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     It took them a while to get going, but when they did, the Pirates were true to form in their 72-38 win over the College of the Sequoias Giants in the opening round of the Tom Gilcrest Invitational Thursday night at COS.  VC used a 24-2 run to turn a 16-9 deficit into a 33-18 advantage over 10 minutes late in the first half in a game where starting center Julie Heurung was absent due to her sister's wedding at home in Ventura, and co-captain Jessi Selleh had a neck injury scare with 16 minutes left in the game.  Ventura advances to the tournament quarterfinals Friday evening at 8:00 pm against Cerritos College.

     After taking a quick 3-2 lead on Erika Ward's 3-pointer from deep in the right corner a minute into the game, Ventura (9-0), ranked #1 in the state, fell behind by as many as seven points, 16-9, with 12:57 remaining in the first half.  The Pirates connect on three of their first 12 shot attempts from the field, and Sequoias (5-3) took advantage of the VC misfires.  A pair of free throws by Chanelle Brennan seemed to get he Pirates untracked, and Donielle Griggs and Brennan hit consecutive buckets to pull VC to within one, 16-15, at the 11:27 mark.  Following a Giant bucket, Ventura tallied 18 unanswered points, including scores from seven different players, to take a 33-18 lead with 3:23 left in the period.  VC win into intermission with a 35-22 advantage.

     After an initial free throw by COS, Griggs scored the next four points as VC padded its lead early in the second half.  With 16:08 remaining the Pirates got a scare as Selleh took a hard foul while driving to the bucket along the right baseline.  She experienced pain in the back of her neck, and the training staff took no risks, and the game was stopped for a period of approximately 20 minutes to tend to the injured Pirate.  (Selleh was back with the team at the hotel after the game following a precautionary trip to the hospital.  She appears to be a little sore, but nothing else on the injury front.)  Brennan hit the two charity tosses for her injured teammate, and Michelle Santizo followed that up with a 3-pointer from the left wing to put the Pirates ahead 44-24 with 15:37 left in the game.  The Pirates closed the game on a 17-5 run over the final ten minutes with outstanding contributions from reserves Lacey Escamilla and Christine McPherson.  VC won the game by a final score of 72-38.

     Griggs led the way for the Pirates with 16 points, three assists, and two steals.  Ward netted 14 points to go along with her five rebounds, four assists, and four steals while Brennan tallied 10 points with three steals in the win.  Santizo had eight points with five dimes, four rebounds, and three takeaways.  Escamilla led the Pirates on the glass with six rebounds, and McPherson had seven points and four steals filling in for Selleh late in the game.

     Ventura will take on Cerritos College on Friday evening at 8:00 pm in the quarterfinals of the four-day tournament in Visalia.  The game will feature the two winningest active coaches in California Community College women's basketball in the Falcons' Karen Welliver (555-279, 27th year) and the Pirates' Ned Mircetic (539-84, 19th year).  VC will take on either Fresno or Riverside on Saturday.