It was certainly not a contest for the faint of heart. In a physical test, the Pirates' women's basketball team prevailed over a tough Santa Ana team 75-56 Saturday evening in the semifinals of the Wild West Shootout at West Los Angeles College in Culver City. Aubri Smith led the way with 18 points, nine assists, four rebounds and three steals while Mary Shirley came off the bench to score 10 points with seven boards.
It was nip-and-tuck in the early going with the Dons taking an 8-4 lead with a 3-pointer at the 6:12 mark of the opening quarter. Shirley came off the bench to spark a Pirate rally with six points in the period, and Felicia Magana's trey at with 1:50 on the clock put VC ahead, 13-11. Sienna Brown hit a bucket to put the Pirates up for good with a 15-13 advantage after one quarter of play.
Aubri Smith began the second quarter with an old-fashioned 3-point play and answered a Santa Ana three with her own long-range bomb to make the score 21-16. Carolyn Ruffino hit the first of her four 3-pointers and Aubri Smith connected for two more buckets, putting Ventura ahead 28-20 with 3:45 remaining in the half. The Pirates hit five of six free throws down the stretch of the period, and Ruffino's triple at the buzzer put Ventura ahead 38-25 at halftime.
VC caught fire early in the third period as Kalmbach hit a field goal followed by a Ruffino three. Aubri Smith hit a jumper, and when Tatum Maciel and Ruffino hit back-to-back triples, the Pirates led 51-28 with 4:55 remaining in the quarter. Santa Ana would battle back, however, scoring 15 straight points over the next four-plus minutes before Kalmbach's deuce just before the end of the period ended the VC drought. The Pirates led 53-43 with 10 minutes remaining in the game.
Santa Ana opened the final period with a basket to pull back to within eight, but Kalmbach answered with her own field goal on the next trip down the floor. Another Brown field goal followed, as did consecutive scores by Makenna Murray. the lead was 61-45 with 6:55 remaining, and Aubri Smith hit a pair of key jumpers down the stretch to help secure the victory. Santa Ana managed just three baskets and six points in the final five minutes of play as the Pirates pulled away with the 75-56 win.
Ruffino hit for 12 points on four triples on the night and Kalmbach contributed 10 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Brown chipped in eight points and seven boards in the Pirate win.
Ventura plays in its fourth tournament championship game of the season Sunday Dec. 20 at 3:00 pm against conference rival Moorpark. Following the Christmas break, the Pirates will host the VC-Optimist Club Holiday Tournament Dec. 28-30 at the Athletic Event Center.