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In
any other game Chanelle
Brennan's 20 point, six rebound game
could be the headline. Michelle
Santizo's brilliant passing that led to
13 assists, and defensive hustle that led to
eight steals could also earn her player of
the game honors. But Wednesday night's
114-36 win over Cuesta College in the
Pirates' WSC North opener belonged Erika
Ward. The VC freshman broke Julie
Hardy's ('95) 14 year-old single-game WSC
scoring record by hitting for 51 points on
19-23 shooting, including 10-12 from behind
the 3-point arc. Her 10 3-pointers is
a new school record as well, breaking Renae
Hofmann's ('00) mark of seven set in 2000,
as Ventura moves to 1-0 in conference play.
Cuesta (5-14, 0-1) actually took an early
lead in the game after VC misfired on its
first two possessions. The Cougars
held a slim 2-0 advantage when Ward took a
pass from Santizo deep in the right corner,
as she had so many time before this season,
and buried her first 3-pointer to put the
Pirates ahead 87 seconds into the
contest. Cuesta tied the game a minute
later before Ward used another Santizo
assist to convert her second trifecta
putting Ventura (20-0, 1-0) ahead for good
at the 16:49 mark of the first half.
Add a old-fashioned 3-point play by Santizo
and a Julie
Heurung steal and outlet to Santizo, who
hit Brennan flying down the court for a fast
break lay-up, on consecutive possessions,
and the Pirates had the hammer down with an
11-3 lead barely four minutes in. VC's
fast start was due, in part, to the
aggressive passing by Santizo who assisted
five of VC's first six buckets.
Ward's third trey came at the 9:15 mark of
the opening period, making the score 25-9,
and her fourth came less than two minutes
later making the count 35-11. But Ward
wasn't all about the glitz and glamour of
the offense - she also got dirty on the
defensive end, grabbing a steal that led to Amanda
Padilla's assist to Brennan, running the
floor once again, to put Ventura ahead 37-11
with 6:58 remaining in the half.
Padilla got into the long-range act hitting
her own 3-pointer at the 2:57 mark and Ward
nailed number five with 1:38 on the clock,
making the score 54-14. Ward's sixth
and final bomb of the half came from,
surprise, another Santizo assist, as the
half came to an end. Santizo made a
long, cross-court pass to Ward who was open
near the left hash-mark in front of the
Cuesta bench, and she let the shot fly just
before the horn sounded. The shot from
at least 30 feet found nothing but the
bottom of the net and the Pirates ran off
the court for halftime holding a 61-16
advantage, and Ward ran off with 30 points.
The second half started off with more
Pirates getting into the act. Donielle
Griggs hit a 3-pointer from the left
wing to open VC's scoring with 19:15
remaining, and followed that up with a
3-point play the hard way with a driving
bucket and free throw. Heurung hit a
long-ranger from the top of the key at the
18:07 mark putting Ventura ahead 70-19
before Ward returned for act two. She
tied Renae Hoffman's school 3-point shooting
record of seven makes in a game on the next
possession, off of an inbounds pass from,
you guessed it, Santizo, with 17:47 left in
the game. Ward followed that up with a
pair of fast-break lay-ups, and Brenda
Van Someren hit from California and Main
at the 10:45 mark making the score
88-27. Kris
King hit a charity toss and an
old-fashioned 3-point play, followed by
Santizo with the same, before Ward splashed
3-pointer number eight with 9:15 remaining
and VC ahead 96-29. Another Santizo
bucket was followed by a pair of easy
lay-ups by Ward putting the Pirates over the
century mark with 8:33 on the
clock.
Ward
hit number nine in grand fashion, connecting
from the right wing in fron t of the Pirate
bench, and getting fouled in the process,
connecting on a rare 4-point play with 7:15
remaining. Needing just two points to
break Julie Hardy's 14-year-old conference
single game scoring mark, Ward proved to be
an unselfish player, turning down a good
shot and passing to Griggs, who had a better
shot on the fast break. The crown,
anticipating the record-breaking moment,
didn't have to wait long, as on the next
possession Santizo (who else) hit Ward on
the right wing as she nailed 3-pointer
number 10 with 6:19 remaining, putting
Ventura ahead 111-30. VC cruised the
rest of the way to the 114-36 victory.
Ward, of course, led the way with 51 points,
six steals, two assists, and a blocked shot
for good measure. Brennan finished the
game with 20 points on a steady 7-11
shooting performance from the floor, and 6-6
from the foul line. Brennan also led
the way with six rebounds, three steals, a
pair of assists, and a blocked shot.
Griggs added 12 points and four assists, and
Santizo played an outstanding game with 13
assists, eight steals, and five rebounds to
go along with her eight points.
Padilla had eight points, seven assists, and
four steals, and King grabbed five boards.
Ward's 51 points and 10 3-pointers were not
the only records set on Wednesday. The
Pirates hit 15 trifectas as a team, breaking
the old mark of 14 set in 1997.
Santizo's 13 assists are tied for second
all-time, two behind Kara Newman's 15 set in
1996, and the Pirates' 114 points is the
sixth-best mark ever, and the best since
they scored 118 against L.A. Pierce in
2003. The 61 points in the first half
is tied for fifth all time, and VC's 34
assists is tied for third in the record
books.
The Pirates closed a six-game homestand and
will hit the road for the first time in a
month on Saturday. They travel to
Woodland Hills to take on a very good L.A.
Pierce team at 7:00 pm. The game will
be preceded by the VC men, who tip-off with the
Brahmas at 5:00 pm. Both games can be
heard live on www.HomeFieldSports.com.
VC returns home for its annual barbeque
fundraising game on Saturday Jan. 17.
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