The Ventura College women's basketball team cruised to an 86-31 victory over Porterville College in the opening round of the Tom Gilcrest Invitational at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia. Aubri Smith had 15 points, five rebounds and two assists while Makenna Murray hit for 14 points with eight boards and a pair of dimes, leading VC to victory in the state's most prestigious non-conference tournament.
The game was a battle of Pirates between the Porterville Pirates and the Ventura Pirates, but it was almost over as soon as it began. Aubri Smith hit a jumper off of a crossover on the first possession and VC was ahead for good. Ventura missed its next two shots, but two free throws from Murray and a fast break lay-up by Aubri Smith made the score 6-0 and the rout was on. Ventura went ahead 10-0 on Sienna Brown's lay-up at the 4:54 mark of the first quarter, and led 22-6 at the end of the first 10 minutes of play.
Murray hit a 3-pointer at the 7:51 mark of the second period to make the score 30-6 before Porterville scored eight straight reduced the margin to 16 points, 30-14. VC turned the tide quickly, however, and Brooke Zamora's bucket at the 2:03 mark made it a 20 point game again, 37-17. Kyleesha Green nailed a 3-pointer on the next possession, and a runner by Carolyn Ruffino and a triple by Aubri Smith ended the half with a 45-17 Ventura advantage.
The VC Pirates cooled off considerably to begin the second half, scoring just five points in the first six minutes of play. Felicia Magana ended the scoring drought by splashing a three from the right wing, and Murray followed that up with another triple. Amani White hit a lay-up with 1:02 remaining in the third quarter to put VC ahead 58-22, and Porterville hit a three to ende the quarter down 58-25.
Ventura's reserves caught fire in the final period, outscoring Porterville 28-6. Rhiana Dougan hit a pair of treys in the period, leading to eight points in the game, and Tatum Maciel, Shiloh Smith and Green also hit from long range. Ventura cruised in for the 86-31 victory.
Green finished with 10 points and three assists while Ruffino scored nine points with six rebounds. Alex Kalmbach pulled in seven rebounds and handed out three assists and Zamora also had three assists. The win was a total team effort as 13 players scored, 14 players grabbed a rebound, and 11 recorded an assist.
VC advances to the Gilcrest quarterfinals against Santa Rosa on Friday Dec. 4 at 2:00 pm at Porter Fieldhouse at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia.