WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: A strong team effort propelled the Ventura College women's basketball team past Los Angeles Pierce College, 114-39 Wednesday night in Woodland Hills. The Pirates were able to post the most points since Jan. 7, 2009 while no individual player scored over 19 points in the game. Cynthia Hernandez had 19 points with six assists, leading five players in double-figures. Hernandez hit four 3-pointers, giving her 85 on the season, setting a new team record, breaking the old mark set by Hall of Famers Amirah Leonard in 1998 and Renae Hofmann in 2000. The win clinched at least a tie for Ventura's 24th consecutive Western State Conference championship.
It was a tight game early as the slow pace from the Brahmas kept the Pirates out of sync. VC (24-3, 9-0) trailed 12-9 with 14:39 left in the first half when Lisa Marie Sanchez hit a field goal, followed by a lay-up from Adrianne Sloboh off an inbounds play assisted by Hernandez gave the Pirates the edge, 13-12. Pierce hit a 3-point shot to tie the game at 17-17 with 10:33 on the clock before Ventura took control with a 26-2 run over the next six minutes.
A triple from Sanchez from a nother Hernandez assist started things off, followed by Makayla Morrison's assist to Sloboh. Hernandez hit Brooke Dixon for a deuce and Sanchez nailed another bucket to make it 26-17 at the 7:59 mark. An Adrianna Vega trey, a fast break lay-up from Dixon, a Sanchez free throw and a 3-pointer from Hernandez completed the 18-0 stretch. Ventura rode the momentum to a 60-29 advantage at halftime.
The second half was all Pirates, as the starting group outscored Pierce 25-4 in the first 6:13 of the period. The high-octane VC offense seemingly scored at will, and the pace continued when Micaela Pericone-Kapp paced the reserve group. The Pirates crossed the century mark for the first time since Feb. 21,2009 when Pericone-Kapp drove and hit a short jumper with 5:55 remaining in the contest, making the score 100-37. A pair of baskets by Marissa Hurtado in the final minute set the final score at 114-39.
Pericone-Kapp came off the bench to score 19 points and Sanchez netted 16 points with seven assists. Dixon had 16 points with 10 rebounds while Vega hit five 3-pointers for 15 points. Sloboh also had a double-double of 14 points and 14 boards for the Pirates.
VC made a season-high 15 3-pointers as a team, tied for the second-highest single-game total in team history. Ventura shot 15-25 from behind the arc and 42-67 overall with 28 assists as a team.
The Pirates return home for their annual barbeque fundraising game against Santa Barbara on Saturday Feb. 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 pm at the Athletic Event Center and the game can be heard online live on the VC Women's Sports Network.