2019-20 VC Women's Basketball Review

At the end of a roller coaster season, the VC women's basketball team had found its way back to the top with a berth in the CCCAA State Elite Eight with a regional final victory on March 7. Five days later, they found themselves in the middle of the emerging COVID-19 crisis that enveloped the country and the world. After a 21-7 overall record, the Pirates became Ventura College's first team to end their season without closure as they returned home from the canceled state tournament.

The Pirates opened the year on a 12-game winning streak, tied for the fourth-best start to a season in program history. VC won four pre-season tournaments playing one of the toughest schedules in the state. After some difficult losses and inopportune injuries, Ventura went on to win five of their final eight games, claiming the No. 3-seed in the Southern California Regional Playoffs on the strength of the state's No. 3 RPI.

The Pirates marched through their two playoff games, defeating Western State Conference North Division rival Allan Hancock College and Orange Empire Conference champion Irvine Valley to advance to the final weekend of the season for a record 19th time.

Team Most Valuable Player Talia Taufaasau became the 11th player in team history to earn two CCCWBCA All-State awards, earning second-team recognition. The sophomore also earned three tournament MVP awards. Cece Quintino and Madison Kast joined Taufaasau on the first team All-WSC list while LaDaesha Merriweather and Kimora Pooler each earned honorable mention all-conference nods. 

The Pirates also had an outstanding year in the classroom, posting a 3.39 grade point average with Quintino, Kast and Yasmine Ahllamara all earning perfect 4.0's in the fall to earn team Scholar Athlete honors.