The Pirates' women's basketball team used a strong second half to surge past host Cuesta College 75-34 Saturday night in San Luis Obispo. VC led 30-23 at halftime before hitting their first five shots of the third quarter, outscoring the Cougars 45-11 in the final 20 minutes. Rhiana Dougan led the way with 16 second-half points and Brooke Zamora had a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds.
It was a close game early with Ventura (21-4, 7-0) taking a 6-5 lead on a back-door play from Aubri Smith to Zamora. Zamora set up Carolyn Ruffino for three later in the period and Smith and Zamora teamed up with 2:41 remaining to give VC a 16-9 advantage. Kyleesha Green set up Alex Kalmbach for a 3-pointer, and Ruffino hit a runner at the buzzer to make it 23-11 for Ventura at the quarter break.
Ventura went cold in the second quarter, making just one of their first eight shots from the floor with four turnovers mixed in. Aubri Smith hit VC's first bucket of the period, and connected for a triple, as well. Green had the only other bucket of the quarter for the Pirates, as they were outscored 12-7 i the period. Ventura led 30-23 at intermission.
The Pirates caught fire in the third quarter, hitting their first five shots from the floor, including four from behind the arc. Zamora connected for three off an inside-out pass from Amani White, and Ruffino hit back-to-back treys. White connected inside for a deuce and Murray hit for three from the top of the key to make it 44-23 early in the third period. Dougan closed the quarter with a couple of three balls and the Pirates led 56-27 at the end of the quarter.
Dougan kept up the pace in the final period, netting 10 more points and Sienna Brown also got into the act with seven fourth quarter points. The Cougars hit a couple of shots late to make the final score 75-34 for VC.
Ruffino had 11 points and seven rebounds in the game while Aubri Smith finished with seven points and seven assists. White had six points and five rebounds and Brown recorded seven points and four boards.
Ventura returns home on Wednesday Feb. 3 to host Moorpark College. Tip-off with the Raiders is slated for 5:00 pm at the Athletic Event Center. VC then hosts LA Pierce on Saturday Feb. 6 in the team's 17th Annual Barbeque Fundraising Game.