After a couple of frustrating days searching for their new identity, the Pirates' women's basketball team took a step in the right direction with a 63-33 victory over host West Los Angeles College at the Wild West Shootout in Culver City Sunday. Mya Victor recorded the Pirates' first double-double of the season with 21 points and 11 rebounds while Alyssandra Lacanilao had 12 points with five assists and three steals. Sofia Torres-Reyes added an even dozen on the day, as well.
Ventura (1-2) got off to a fast start when Lacanilao assisted a three by Torres-Reyes on the opening possession. Lacanilao followed with her own triple, and she dropped a dime to Kenya Edelhart for three and the Pirates led 9-0 with 6:25 left in the first quarter. Sam Martinez assisted a lay-up by Victor and VC stretched the lead to double-digits before the Wildcats finally scored a field goal at the 4:10 mark. Martinez then dished an inside-out pass to Lacanilao for another three, followed by two charity tosses and a deuce from Victor and Ventura led 18-5 at the end of the period.
But as quickly as the Pirates heated up in the first quarter, they cooled down in the second. VC missed their first 11 shots of the quarter as WLAC scored nine straight points. Jasmine Glover finally drained a short jumper at the 1:12 mark to end a 9-minute scoring drought and Torres-Reyes assisted a deep 3-ball from Victor in the closing seconds of the period. Ventura had an eight point lead at the break, 23-15.
West LA started the second half strong, outscoring the Pirates 6-2 over the first 3:30 of play to pull to within four, 25-21. Victor assisted a jumper by Edelhart to stop the skid, and Lacanilao converted Edelhart's dime less than a minute later. Victor then hit a charity toss and a lay-up on back-to-back possessions to stretch the lead back to double-figures, 32-21, halfway through the third. Victor scored a deuce at the 3:17 mark to make it a 9-0 run for VC, and Edelhart immediately answered a Wildcat three with a drive and bucket. Martinez and Edelhart each scored in the final minute of the quarter and VC led 40-24 headed to the fourth.
Victor converted on a 3-point play and Torres-Reyes connected from range twice for a 49-24 lead with 7:16 remaining in the game. Victor made another inside shot and Torres-Reyes connected for another three as Ventura closed out its 20-0 run, taking full control of the contest. Lacanilao connected for three at the 4:47 mark, and Alisha Cruz-Lisberg's high-arching jumper from the left corner made it 61-33 for the Pirates headed to the final minute of play. Martinez connected with two free tosses late as the Pirates posted the 63-33 victory.
Edelhart ended the game with nine points, five rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals and Martinez finished with four points, four rebounds and three dimes.
The Pirates make their return to the Athletic Event Center in nearly two years on Thursday Nov.18 in the VC-Kiwanis Tournament of Champions. Ventura will play West Hills-Lemoore at 6:00 pm.
Other games on Thursday include Santa Monica and Long Beach at 2:00 pm, Cypress and Mt. San Antonio at 4:00 pm, and Napa Valley and Canyons at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available online at https://ventura.vbotickets.com/events.