The struggle continued Wednesday for the VC women's basketball team, but a strong second half performance turned a 10-point halftime lead into a 69-32 runaway at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria. VC trailed 15-14 midway through the second quarter before turning things around in the victory. With the win, and a loss by second-place Oxnard College, the Pirates claimed outright their 26th consecutive Western State Conference championship.
The Pirates (24-4, 10-0), who have battled offensive issues for the past few games, started out struggling again. VC missed their first four shots while turning the ball over three times while falling behind the Bulldogs, 4-0. Amani White assisted a Brooke Zamora lay-up at the 6:42 mark of the first quarter to put the Pirates on the board. After White tied the game from an Aubri Smith assist, Zamora nailed a 3-pointer to put Ventura ahead 7-4. The Pirates maintained the advantage and led 14-8 at the end of the first period on Makenna Murray's triple in the final minute.
Hancock opened the second quarter with a 7-0 run over the first 3:30 of play, taking a 15-14 advantage. Kyleesha Green assisted a Murray jumper at the 5:55 mark of the period to put the Pirates back on top, and Rhiana Dougan's field goal two minutes later stretched the lead to 18-15. Ventura closed the first half on a 16-5 run, capped by Murray's three from the right corner from a Green assist. The Pirates led 30-20 at intermission.
In the third quarter, the Pirate offense managed just two free throws over the first four minutes of play, but the defense was on point. They shutout the Bulldogs for nearly seven minutes, allowing just three points in the quarter, enough for the offense to outscore Hancock 15-3. Zamora had a pair of treys in the quarter along with a lay-up, and Aubri Smith also scored a field goal on a sweet back door cut with an assist by Zamora. The Pirates led 45-23 after three quarters.
Ventura finally pulled away in the fourth quarter. Marissa Hurtado sandwiched a field goal and free throw around Alex Kalmbach's bucket, and Sienna Brown turned an offensive rebound into two points. Felicia Magana nailed a pair of 3-pointers and Green scored a pair of buckets, as well. The Pirates rode away with the 69-32 win, securing the conference title, VC's 29th overall in program history.
Zamora led the way with 16 points on a 4-6 shooting night from beyond the arc. Murray had a solid game with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals while White totaled eight points with 12 boards, three blocked shots and two steals. Green had eight points, six assists and two steals. Dougan cam in with six points and three steals while Aubri Smith grabbed four rebounds with three assists and two steals.
Ventura has a bye on the next play date before returning home for their final regular season appearance at the Athletic Event Center on Wednesday Feb. 17. The Pirates will host Santa Barbara City College for a 5:00 pm tip-off, and the team will honor its sophomore class before the game.