A pull-up jumper, a 3-point basket, two made free throws, a blocked shot - all big plays made down the stretch by the Pirates as they erased a seven point deficit with 9:07 left to play and turned it into a 66-61 victory at Moorpark Wednesday night. Kenya Edelhart scored 13 points on the night, eight in the decisive final period, and Mya Victor had a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead the charge. Kylie Gallick was rock-solid once again with 14 points and seven boards as VC (13-10, 8-1) won its eighth straight game.
Ventura gained the upper hand early on in the contest building a 9-4 advantage in the first four minutes of play. Sofia Torres-Reyes hit a three to give VC a 5-4 lead, and jumpers from Gallick and Victor extended the margin to five with 6:15 left to play in the first quarter. The Raiders tied the game with four straight points before Edelhart assisted a mid-range shot on the left baseline by Gallick. Alyssandra Lacanilao scored on a drive and Victor hit another jumper as the Pirates led 16-11 after one quarter of play.
Gallick made a pair of free shots, then scored inside off of Victor's dime to extend the VC advantage to nine points, 20-11, with 8:45 on the clock. Gallick maintained the edge with a putback to answer a Raider score a minute later before Moorpark came to life. The raiders went on a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 23-22 lead with 5:43 left in the half. Maddie Ozbourn sandwiched a pair of field goals around a two bu MC for a 26-25 Pirate lead at the 1:34 mark before the Raiders scored eight straight points to take a 33-26 lead into halftime.
Moorpark outscored Ventura 11-5 to begin the third quarter, building a 44-31 margin with 3:58 left in the stanza. Lacanilao ended the skid, and Victor hit a pair of shots and a free throw to close the gap to eight. Edelhart then hit from beyond the arc in the final minute of the period to make it 46-41 for the Raiders at the quarter break.
Offsetting technical fouls added a little spice to the beginning of the final 10 minutes, and Moorpark added two free throws at the 9:07 mark to stretch their advantage to 48-41. Edelhart hit a pull-up jumper on the next possession to start the Pirate comeback, and Victor followed with an offensive rebound and putback. Gallick also turned an offensive board into two points, and Victor answered two Raider free shots and an MC lay-up with her own inside score and a made jumper to make it 52-51 for the Raiders at the 5:28 mark. An MC three on the next possession opened up some room for the Raiders, but two Gallick free throws and another Edelhart stop-and-pop tied the game with 4:05 remaining.
The Pirates went on a 6-0 run at that point to take control. Edelhart sandwiched a pair of deuces around a Euro-step lay-up by Jasmine Glover for a 10-0 run and a 61-55 Pirate advantage. After a Moorpark free throw ended the skid, Torres-Reyes connected on a big three from the right side off a pass from Lacanilao to make it an eight point game. MC scored five straight at that point to close to within 64-61, but Alisha Cruz-Lisberg swished two free throws with 23 seconds remaining, and Victor blocked a last-minute 3-point attempts by the Raiders to preserve the 66-61 victory.
Ozbourn finished with eight points and six rebounds in the game, and Torres-Reyes scored six with a pair of three's. Lacanilao pulled in five boards and had a pair of assists.
Ventura held a 40-31 edge on the boards, and limited the Raiders to six offensive rebounds all night. The Pirates had 19 second-chance points compared to one for Moorpark. VC also shot 75 percent at the free throw line (9-12) and limited themselves to seven turnovers in the contest.
With the win, the Pirates move into first place in the conference standings, a half game ahead of the Raiders.
VC will have a weekend off before heading into the final stretch of Western State Conference play. Ventura will next host Santa Barbara on Monday Feb. 14 at 5:00 pm at the Athletic Event Center.