Madison Cvijanovich had a career-high 15 points on five made 3-pointers, and Talia Taufaasau controlled the Pirates offense with 19 points to lead VC past Cuesta 57-39 Wednesday night at the Athletic Event Center in VC's 12th Annual Ribbons of Life Breast Cancer Game. Cvijanovich hit three triples in the first quarter and Taufaasau scored 10 points in the second to knock back he Cougars with a one-two punch. Robin Prince totaled eight points with 13 rebounds to anchor the front line for the Pirates (19-7, 4-0).
Both teams started out cold, with the Pirates misfiring on their first 10 shots while falling behind 4-0. Cvijanovich got Ventura on the board with 4:29 remaining in the opening period, converting from long range with an assist by Taufaasau. A minute later Cvijanovich hit from range again giving VC a lead they would not relinquish. LaDaesha Merriweather hit inside and Cvijanovich connected for another three and the Pirates led 11-4 at the end of the first period.
Both teams found a groove in the second period, but Ventura's groove was a little better than Cuesta's. Taufaasau hit consecutive 3-pointers to make it a 10-point game, 24-14, midway through the stanza, and her bucket in the closing seconds of the half made it 30-18 at intermission.
The Pirates maintained their advantage in the third period, finding buckets on the inside. Prince netted a pair of scores in the paint around assisting a field goal by Merriweather. Victoria Maciel hit a long two, and Merriweather cashed in another dime by Prince to claim a 42-29 advantage at the quarter break.
VC broke the game open in the final period. Cvijanovich hit her fifth triple of the game midway through the period to stretch the lead to 54-32 before the Pirates wrapped up the 57-39 victory.
Merriweather finished the game with eight points and nine rebounds while Maciel scored seven points and pulled in six boards.
In activities surrounding the RoL Game, a total of $1,803.75 was raised for the Ribbons of Life Breast Cancer Foundation through the Silent Auction, promised bids, and other donations. VC Women's Basketball and Ribbons of Life would like to thank everyone who participated in the activities.
Ventura will next head to Moorpark on Wednesday Feb. 6, a date pushed back from the originally scheduled Feb. 2. Tip-off at Raider Pavilion is slated for 7:00 pm.
