Ventura
53,
@
Orange
Coast
42
It
definitely wasn't pretty. At times
it was even ugly. But in the battle
between the Pirates of the North, and the
Pirates of the South, the North reigned
supreme as the Ventura Pirates defeated
the 14th-ranked Orange Coast Pirates
53-42 on Saturday in a non-conference
matinee in Costa Mesa. Both teams seemed
to be fighting December fatigue as neither
group could consistently make shots, but
in the end, Ventura made more plays for
the victory. Michelle
Santizo led another balanced VC attack
with 12 points and five assists as #1
ranked Ventura moved to 14-0 on the season
for the third time since 1995-96.
Ventura (14-0) built a 7-2 early
advantage, capped by Santizo's 3-pointer
from an Erika
Ward assist with 15:43 remaining in
the opening period. Consecutive
Orange Coast (9-4) treys gave the southern
Pirates an 8-7 lead three minutes
later. Chanelle
Brennan connected on a drive from the
left side at the 9:39 mark to get Ventura
moving, giving them the lead for good at
9-8. Donielle
Griggs scored the next six points,
including back-to-back lay-ups, to
complete an 8-0 Ventura run giving the
Pirates of the north a 15-8 advantage with
7:07 on the clock. Julie
Heurung took over at that point
nailing a bucket and a pair of free throws
putting VC ahead 19-10 at the 4:26
point. Santizo netted seven of
Ventura's final nine points of the period,
including an old-fashioned 3-point play
with three ticks left on the clock, giving
VC a 28-17 halftime lead. Ventura
was cold from the field in the opening
minutes, hitting just three of its
first 14 shots, but the northern Pirates
finished strong, connecting on seven of
their final 11 shot attempts.
Ventura led 35-26 five minutes into the
second half when Christine
McPherson hit Amanda
Padilla deep in the right corner,
where she launched a long-range
bomb. Brennan followed up that three
by finishing a lay-up on a play started by
a Jessi
Selleh steal and continued by a
Padilla assist, giving the northern
Pirates some breathing room 40-26 with
13:23 left to play. Another bucket
and a charity toss by Brennan capped off
Ventura's 8-0 run, giving them a17 point
cushion, 43-26. VC held its largest
lead of the contest, 19 points, 47-28
after a bucket by Heurung at the 9:16
mark. OCC outscored VC 14-6 from
that point as both teams missed numerous
easy shot opportunities. The
northern Pirates escaped the hostile
southern waters with a 53-42 victory over
OCC.
Santizo led the way with 12 points and
five assists, and Heurung contributed 11
points and six rebounds. Brennan
followed up with 10 points and five boards.
Kris
King also pulled down five rebounds
for VC while Ward dished out three
assists.
Ventura gets some well-deserved time off
to rejuvenate their energy, as they have
six days before they open a six-game home stand.
VC will host the We Play Hard Crossover
Classic Dec. 19 and 20 at the Athletic
Event Center. On Friday Dec. 19 Mira
Costa will play Los Angeles Trade Tech at
5:00 pm followed by VC and Cypress at
7:00. On Saturday Dec. 20, the
opponents will switch as Mira Costa takes
on Cypress at 5:00 and Ventura battles
L.A. Trade Tech at 7:00.
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