WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Continuing a streak that began in the presidential administration of George H.W. Bush, the Pirates celebrated President's Day weekend with an 88-34 victory over Santa Barbara, claiming outright the program's 24th consecutive Western State Conference championship, VC's 27th title since 1984. Lisa Marie Sanchez had 17 points and seven assist while Adrianne Sloboh netted 17 points with 14 rebounds and four assists. The Pirates shot a sizzling 82 percent from the floor in the second half, missing just five of 28 shots in the period, in the victory in front of a large crowd in the annual barbeque fundraising game at the Athletic Event Center.
VC (24-3, 10-0) missed a couple of easy shots early, and fell behind 2-0 to the Vaqueros. Sanchez had a steal and an assist to Cynthia Hernandez at the 16-minute mark to give the Pirates a 6-4 lead, an advantage they would not relinquish. Sanchez assisted a bucket by Sloboh on the next possession and the rout was on. Ventura slowly pulled away throughout the opening 20 minutes, and Lexi Hinojosa hit a driving lay-up with 0:53 on the clock giving the Pirates a 35-15 halftime lead.
The second half was almost surreal, with VC seemingly putting points on the board on every possession. After going 0-5 from 3-point land in the first half, the Pirates hit six 3-point attempts in a row in the second, and scored from long-range, on short jumpers, and going to the basket. Leading 69-24 with 11 minutes remaining, the Pirates began to sub out the starters, and the bench took over. Madison O'Donnell was 4-4 on the night for eight points and Micaela Pericone-Kapp netted five points in the final 20 minutes. Joi Moten had a solid night with a career-high eight rebounds and four points, with most coming in the final period as well. O'Donnell's fast break lay-up off of an assist by Hinojosa in the final seconds sealed the deal for the 88-34 Pirate victory.
Brooke Dixon scored 13 points with eight boards while Hernandez added two 3-pointers to her record-setting 3-point total, finishing with 10 points. Adrianna Vega had eight points and three assists.
The Pirates will celebrate sophomore night at their final regular season home game on Wednesday Feb. 19 as they host College of the Canyons at 5:00 pm. VC closes the year at Moorpark on Saturday Feb.22. Both games can be heard live online on the VC Women's Sports Network.