Pirate guard Talia Taufaasau netted 22 points, shooting 7-15 from the floor, 3-5 from three, and 5-7 at the foul line as the VC women's basketball team over matched Oxnard 71-33 Saturday night at the Athletic Event Center. Cece Quintino had 16 points, 14 in the second half, with seven rebounds, and Madison Cvijanovich totaled 12 points for Ventura (22-8, 7-1). Victoria Maciel contributed eight points to the Pirate victory.
The outcome of the game was apparent from the start as the Pirates opened up an 8-0 advantage in the first three minutes of play. Cvijanovich and Maciel hit 3-pointers, then Cvijanovich made a pair of free throws before the Condors scored their first bucket with 4:03 remaining in the first quarter. Charity shots by Quintino, another Cvijanovich three and two free throws by Larryssa Russell made it 13-4, and Maciel's long-range bomb put the Pirates ahead 18-7 at the end of the period.
In the second stanza, the rout was on with two 3-pointers by Taufaasau sandwiched around a lay-up by Robin Prince for a 26-7 margin. The Pirates took a 28-10 lead into halftime.
Oxnard showed some signs of life early in the third quarter, putting together a 6-0 run to close to within 29-16 at the 8:27 mark. The teams then traded baskets for the next two minutes before VC reestablished control behind Quintino. The freshman guard scored nine straight points on four trips down the floor to expand the Ventura advantage past 20 points. Taufaasau converted two free shots and Emma Larson nailed a three from the left corner off a Quintino dime and the Pirates led 48-23 with 2:31 on the clock. Cvijanovich hit from range at he buzzer and the Pirates had a 51-27 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Ventura slowly expanded their advantage throughout the final stanza, beginning with a three from Quintino off a Larson assist. Taufaasau's drive and lay-up made it a 30-point margin with 5:51 remaining. LaDaesha Merriweather scored on a turn-around jumper inside with 2:26 on the clock for a 66-31 margin as the Pirates posted the 71-33 victory soon thereafter.
Merriweather pulled in seven boards in the effort and Prince had six boards. Larson netted five points with five rebounds in the game. As a team, VC hit 11 of 23 3-point attempts and surpassed 200 made three's for the season for just the fifth time in program history.
The Pirates will next travel to San Luis Obispo on Tuesday Feb. 19 to take on Cuesta College. Tip-off against the Cougars is scheduled for 7:00 pm following the VC men at 5:00 pm.