VENTURA COLLEGE   VC Athletic Web Sites VC Athletics Home Baseball M Basketball W Basketball Cheerleading Cross Country Football Golf W Soccer Softball Swimming & Diving M Tennis W Tennis Track & Field Volleyball M Water Polo W Water Polo

     If it wasn't official after Wednesday, it certainly was Saturday.  Already assured of at least a tie in the Western State Conference race, the Ventura College women's basketball team laid any doubts over their conference supremacy to rest with a resounding 99-61 win over Santa Barbara City College at the Athletic Event Center.  Every Pirate who played scored, and five players hit double-figures as VC attacked the Vaqueros from all sides to clinch outright their 19th consecutive conference crown. 

     Ventura (29-0, 10-0) never trailed in the game.  Michelle Santizo nailed a 3-pointer a minute into the game, followed by a basket by Donielle Griggs and another trey from Santizo as the Pirates took an early 8-0 lead.  Santa Barbara (21-12, 7-4) came back with a pair of buckets to halve the VC advantage when Julie Heurung and Amanda Padilla sandwiched deuces around a Vaq 3-point play to give the Pirates a 12-7 lead at the 13:15 mark of the first half.  VC led 17-11 with 11:34 on the clock when they went on a 9-0 run sparked by Erika Ward's 3-pointer.  That was followed by a 40-foot bounce pass from Ward to Padilla through the legs of a SBCC defender, which Padilla promptly converted to another bucket putting Ventura ahead 22-11.  Ward then hit Chanelle Brennan, who got loose behind the defense, 20 seconds later for another easy two.  Another bucket from Padilla closed the run giving the Pirates a 26-13 lead with 9:14 remaining in the period.

     Santa Barbara closed the gap to 31-20 with 6:26 on the clock before the Pirates finished the period by outscoring the Vaqueros 16-9.  Kris King and Brennan each hit baskets before Jessi Selleh connected for consecutive scores.  Brennan hit a pair of free throws and Selleh nailed a 3-pointer with 1:02 remaining making the score 45-27.  Selleh added a deuce on the next possession to make the advantage 20 points before the Vaqueros scored the final bucket of the half.  Ventura led at halftime 47-29.

     SBCC managed to keep the game within reach until the 17:31 mark of the second half when the Pirates held a 53-28 lead.  Ventura would score the next seven points en route to an 17-2 run over the next five-and-a-half minutes.  Heurung dominated the game momentarily scoring consecutive buckets, the first on an alley-oop pass from Selleh and the second as part of an old-fashioned 3-point play off of a Ward assist.  A Selleh charity toss then preceded a pair of free throws from Heurung.  Brennan turned a steal in the front court into another easy pair for VC, and then she converted a pair of free throws on a possession that started with a steal by Padilla.  Brennan scored another deuce before Heurung blocked a Vaquero shot, that was rebounded by Brennan, who passed to Ward, who hit Selleh on a fast break as she hit the lay-up and was fouled.  Selleh completed the old-fashioned 3-point play to make the score 70-30 with 12:03 on the clock.

     The Vaqueros connected on their first field goal of the second half at the 11:50 mark.  They missed their first seven shot attempts, scoring on eight free throws only in the first eight minutes of the stanza.  The Pirates followed up that bucket with a pair of free throws by Brennan and a 3-pointer from Padilla before SBCC hit another field goal.   VC scored the next six points, a deuce from Griggs, a free throw by Santizo, a basket by Brennan, and a free shot by Heurung, to take an 81-41 advantage with 7:45 remaining in the game.  The Pirates cruised from that point, with Brenda Van Someren hitting a triple and Irma Rivera and Lacey Escamilla each nailing a pair of free throws.  Ventura closed the scoring with a King basket off of an Escamilla assist with 21 seconds remaining.  Ventura won easily 99-61.

     Brennan led all scorers with 18 points on 5-6 shooting from the floor and a perfect 8-8 showing at the free throw line.  Selleh netted 16 points and Ward had 13, including three 3-pointers.  Heurung and Santizo scored 12 and 10 points respectively, while Padilla and Griggs each added nine.  Padilla and Ward handed out seven assists apiece while Santizo and Heurung each dropped four dimes.  Heurung had seven rebounds as Brennan grabbed six boards.  Griggs and Ward each pulled down five caroms.  Brennan and Padilla each added four steals on the defensive end, as well, while Griggs and Heurung each had two blocked shots.

     The WSC Champion Pirates have two games remaining in the regular season.  They play at Oxnard College on Wednesday Feb. 18 and will host Allan Hancock on Saturday Feb. 21.  Both games begin at 7:00 pm and can be heard on www.HomeFieldSports.com.