WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: As the season draws to a close, sophomore Lisa Marie Sanchez is rewriting the record books for point guards at Ventura College. Wednesday night in her final regular season contest at the Athletic Event Center, Sanchez handed out 17 assists, a new single-game record, and moved her season total to 218 assists, tying her for the all-time single-season record with Tara McLean set back in 1984-85. She also scored 18 points to lead the Pirates to an 86-66 win over second-place College of the Canyons. Brooke Dixon had 22 points and 10 rebounds while Ardrianne Sloboh totaled 17 points and 14 boards for the Pirates (26-3, 11-0).
VC had things going early, hitting their first eight shots of the game, with Sanchez handing out five assists. Sanchez hit two of the three remaining shots in the run, and when she hit Cynthia Hernandez for a 3-pointer at the 15:28 mark of the first half, VC led 17-8. Dixon consistently was beating the Cougars down the court on the fast break, and Sanchez kept feeding the beast. Dixon made her first six shots of the period, all lay-ups assisted by Sanchez. Micaela Pericone-Kapp nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner from a pass by Adrianna Vega with 2:29 on the clock and VC led 42-25 for their largest lead of the period. The Pirates took a 43-29 advantage into intermission.
Canyons made things interesting as the second half began, outscoring Ventura 10-1 over the first 2:07 to close to within five points, 44-39. Sloboh stopped the bleeding with a short jumper on the next possession, and a pair of free throws by Dixon followed and the Cougars got not closer. Sanchez assisted a bucket by Sloboh at the 14:34 mark to push the lead back into double-digits, 52-41, and the Pirate margin grew from there. Canyons remained a threat because of their explosive offense, but when Sanchez and Hernandez made back-to back triples inside the three-minute mark, the game was put on ice with VC leading 78-56. Sandra Ortiz had a pair of strong scores inside late as the Pirates rolled to the 86-66 victory.
Hernandez hit four 3-pointers, adding to her school record total which now stands at 91 made for the year, contributing 12 points while Vega moved into sixth place on the trey list with two made, giving her 79 on the season.
Ventura will close the regular season on Saturday Feb. 22 at Moorpark College. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 pm at Raider Pavilion. Fans who cannot make the trip to the east county can hear the game live online on the VC Women's Sports Network.