After falling behind 29-7 in the first 10 minutes of the game, the Pirates' women's basketball team came all the way back against San Joaquin Delta College, even taking the lead in the second half, but could not hold on, falling 76-70 in their final game of the Gilcrest Invitational at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia Sunday afternoon.
For the second game in the past three outings, VC (6-4) had a disasterous start. They had four turnovers in their first five possessions, and fell behind 11-0 before Makenna Murray sank a 3-pointer from the left corner to get the Pirates on the board. Brooke Zamora hit a pair of free throws and Aubri Smith hit a runner in the paint to pull Ventura to within 11-7, but Delta continued their hot shooting to expand their advantage.
The Mustangs scored the next 18 points to post a 29-7 lead at the 9:33 mark of the first period. Delta hit six 3-pointers during their strong start to help open the 22-point cushion.
Felicia Magana broke the Pirate drought with a lay-up, and 3-pointers from Carolyn Ruffino, Zamora and Magana began to close the gap for VC. Carly Maciel hit a triple at the 2:48 mark of the half, and when Ruffino nailed her second long-range bomb of the period, the Pirates had closed to within 43-34 at halftime.
Zamora and Micaela Pericone-Kapp split the Pirates' first 16 points of the second half, as Ventura pulled to within 54-50 midway through the period. VC continued the fight, finally completing the comeback, taking a 58-57 advantage on Murray's old-fashioned 3-point play with 7:58 on the clock.
Delta would not be denied, however, retaking the lead on the next possession with a pair of free throws. The score remained close to the end, but the Mustangs were clutch from the charity stripe down the stretch. Ruffino's third 3-pointer of the game closed the score to 70-66 with 1:15 on the clock, but VC never got back to within a single possession, dropping the 76-70 decision.
Zamora led the Pirates with 14 points and nine rebounds while Ruffino also netted 14 points with four boards. Pericone-Kapp finished with nine points and six rebounds and Madison O'Donnell also hauled in eight caroms. Aubri Smith handed out five assists for the Pirates, who lost two games at the four-day Gilcrest Invitational for just the second time in 20 years.
Ventura will next take on Grossmont College in the first round of the LAVC-Russell Classic at Los Angeles Valley College on Friday Dec. 12 at 3:00 pm.