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     Historically, Santa Barbara is rarely an easy place for the Pirates to play.  History repeated itself Wednesday night as VC blew a big lead in the second half, had to come from behind, and finally defeated Santa Barbara City College 84-81 in overtime at the SBCC Sports Pavilion.  Julie Heurung had a monster night with 24 points, including the game-tying 3-pointer with 9.6 seconds remaining in regulation, and 17 rebounds to lead the Pirates into sole possession of first place in the Western State Conference North Division over the Vaqueros.

     The road was smooth for the Pirates in the early going as they jumped out to a 6-0 lead barely two minutes into the contest, with three different players scoring three assisted buckets (Donielle Griggs, Erika Ward, and Heurung).  But Santa Barbara (18-9, 4-1) would have none of that, tying the game at nine with a pair of free throws with 16:09 on the clock. The Vaqueros eventually took a 28-24 lead with 6:09 remaining in the half before a bucket from Heurung and a 3-pointer from Michelle Santizo off of a pass from Ward put Ventura (23-0, 4-0) back on top 40 seconds later.  Another trey from Santizo a basket by Ward, and a Santizo charity toss gave the Pirates some breathing room, 35-29 at the 3:28 mark.  VC opened up an eight point advantage 40, 32 on Kris King's field goal with 54 seconds left in the period, but a defensive mix-up allowed SBCC an open look at a 3-pointer that they nailed with 11 seconds remaining to make the halftime score 40-35.

      The Vaqueros hit a free throw to open second half scoring before Jessi Selleh hit a 3-pointer at the 18:55 mark to begin a 10-0 Pirate run.  Heurung rung up the next five points followed by a basket by King, giving Ventura a 50-36 lead with 16:19 remaining in regulation time.  On the next defensive possession Selleh landed wrong on her right ankle, and had to come out of the game, and she did not return for the rest of the evening.  Santa Barbara took advantage, outscoring VC 20-5 over the next seven minutes to take a 56-55 lead with 8:58 on the clock.  The lead sea-sawed for the next few possessions before SBCC opened up a four point cushion, 69-65 with under three minutes remaining on the game clock.  Chanelle Brennan hit a pair of free throws with 2:21 remaining before the Vaqueros hit a charity toss at he 2-minute mark, giving them a 70-67 lead.  

     Huerung tipped in a Santizo miss on the next possession to make the score 70-69 with 1:40 left.  The Pirates were unable to convert a pair of missed front-ends of a 1-and-1 by the Vaqueros, and SBCC hit a pair of free tosses with 18 ticks on the clock to go up by three.  That set the stage for Heurung's heroics.  She caught the ball on the right wing, with a Vaquero defender closing hard.  Without batting an eye, Heurung calmly hit the 21-foot set shot, tying the game at 72 with 9.6 seconds remaining.  Following a timeout, Santa Barbara worked for a good look at the rim from the left wing, but the 3-point attempt bounced off the right rim and into the hands of Griggs as time expired, sending the game into overtime.

     In the five-minute extra period, Santizo converted a lay-up from the tip putting the Pirates in the driver's seat temporarily, before Santa Barbara came right back, nailing a quick shot to tie the score.  On the next Pirate possession, Griggs had the ball on the right wing and hit Brennan who was cutting to the basket off of Heurung's screen.  Brennan converted the lay-up and was fouled in the process, setting up an old-fashioned 3-point play, giving VC the lead for good, 77-74 with 4:05 left in the contest.  following a Vaquero charity toss, Ward stroked a 3-pointer from the left side, right in front of the Pirate bench, to give VC a 81-75 lead with 2:11 remaining.  Santa Barbara kept playing hard, but could not climb back into the game.  Santizo converted Heurung's pass in the paint for an open lay-up with 10 seconds left to seal the deal, and Ward added a free throw with five ticks on the clock to set the final margin.  SBCC had one last chance to tie the score, but their final running 3-pointer sailed wide right and the Pirates escaped with an 84-81 overtime victory.

     Heurung had a career night with 24 points on 10-12 shooting from the floor, to go along with a game-high 17 rebounds.  the 17 boards is the most rebounds in a game since Kristen De Simone hauled in 18 caroms on November 19, 1998 vs. San Jose.  In four conference games, the Pirates have now had five players break the 20-point plateau.  Santizo had 19 points on th night with six rebounds while Griggs and Ward totaled 11 and 10 points, respectively.  Brennan and Selleh each added eight points and King had five rebounds.  Griggs handed out five assists while Ward dished out four.

     Ventura will return home this Saturday night, Jan. 24, and host the Oxnard Condors.  Game time is schedule for 7:00 pm, and will follow the Pirate men, who host the Condors at 5:00 pm.  Both games can be heard live on www.HomeFieldSports.com and on the radio on 1520 KVTA AM in the greater Ventura area.