Southern
Caliifornia
Regional
Semifinals
On
a night where the Pirates experienced their
worst shooting night since opening day, the
post players became the center of
attention. Julie
Heurung and Kris
King combined for 29 points and 28
rebounds to lead the Ventura College women's
basketball team to a 74-56 win over Citrus
College in the Regional Semifinals of the
Southern California Playoffs. The
Pirates connected on just 35 percent of
their field goal attempts (28-80), the
lowest total since their season-opening win
against El Camino (32.2 percent), but the
centers' 28 rebounds helped lead a 60-45
rebound advantage for VC in the must-win
game.
The Pirates fell behind 6-3 barely two
minutes into the game before Chanelle
Brennan, Jessi
Selleh, Michelle
Santizo, and Heurung all scored on
consecutive possessions giving Ventura
(32-0) an 11-6 lead with 15:13 remaining in
the first half. Citrus (23-11) came
back with a 6-0 run of their own over the
next minute-plus to take a 12-11 lead with
14:10 on the clock. The Pirate defense
put the Owls on lock-down for the next 4:12,
leading to a 17-12 Pirate advantage. Donielle
Griggs' assist to Heurung started the
run, giving VC the the lead for good 13-12,
and Brennan and Selleh each connected with
deuces to complete the run. Griggs hit
a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put
Ventura ahead 24-17 at the 8:12 mark, and
Selleh's triple put the Pirates out from by
10 points, 29-19, with 5:30 remaining in the
period. VC went into halftime with a
36-25 advantage.
Citrus made another run at the beginning of
the second half, scoring six of the period's
first eight points, closing the gap to
38-31. VC responded with a bucket by
Heurung and a 3-pointer by Griggs to
reestablish control for the Pirates.
Selleh's old-fashioned 3-point play with
12:58 remaining increased the lead to 15,
51-36, and Heurung converted a pass from
Santizo, and made the accompanying free
throw following the Citrus foul, giving the
Pirates a 55-39 advantage at the 9:39
mark. Five minutes later the Santizo
to Heurung connection prevailed again, also
with a Citrus foul on the shot, and Heurung
converted on yet another 3-point play to put
Ventura ahead 67-47, sealing the win.
King hit a shot with 1:18 left to give the
Pirates their biggest lead, 72-51, with 1:08
left, and VC closed the game on Irma-time,
with fan-favorite Irma
Rivera connecting on a charity toss in
the game's final minute. Ventura
finished the game with a 74-56 win.
Heurung led all scorers with 20 points, and
grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds.
That total ties for the sixth-highest
single-game total in modern VC history, and
is the most by a Pirate since Kristen De
Simone's 18 boards on Nov. 29, 1998.
Heurung also added four blocked shots and a
pair of assists. Griggs netted 14
points for VC while Brennan and Selleh each
had 10 points. King finished the game
with nine points and 10 rebounds while
Santizo had nine boards and three
assists. Erika
Ward had five assists to go along with
two blocked shots and taking two charges on
the defensive end for the Pirates.
Ventura advances to the Southern California
Regional Finals next Saturday, March
7. The Pirates, who are the #2 seed in
the region, will host #7 College of the
Canyons at the Athletic Event Center in a
7:00 pm contest with a berth in the Elite
Eight State Tournament on the line.
Canyons advanced to the Regional Final with
an 81-77 win over #10 Mt. San Jacinto
College on Friday. The game can be
heard live on www.HomeFieldSports.com.
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