The Pirates' women's basketball team survived a sub-par performance Thursday, outlasting Chabot 61-56 to move into the semifinals of the 46th Tom Gilcrest Tournament at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia. Kylie Gallick had 15 points and 16 rebounds to lead Ventura (6-0) and Kenya Edelhart netted 11 points in the balanced effort. Sofia Torres-Reyes had nine points, Jasmine Glover added eight, And Haley Bennett pulled in seven boards in the victory.
It was not a great start for the Pirates. Torres-Reyes scored a deuce to answer Chabot's 3-pointer on the opening possession before the Gladiators reeled off five straight points for an 8-2 advantage. Bennett, Dani Henley and Glover scored in succession to even the score midway through the first period. Henley's lay-up off an Alina Olivo assist gave VC the lead and Alexis Howery's shot from range made it 13-9. Glover's putback at the 1:52 mark stretched the margin to six points before Chabot closed the quarter with a 5-0 run.
Bennett broke a scoreless skid on both ends of the floor with a bucket with 6:55 on the clock, and Ventura did not score again for four more minutes until Gallick got her first field goal of the contest at the 3:10 mark. Edelhart made a couple of lay-ups down the stretch as VC had an eight-point margin at halftime, 25-17.
Chabot opened the third quarter with an 11-2 run to retake the lead, 28-27. The teams traded baskets for the next four minutes before Torres-Reyes scored on the drive and Edelhart scored a three off a Glover dime for a 39-35 VC advantage. The Pirates stayed on top for the remainder of the period, leading 43-40 at the quarter break.
The Gladiators scored from beyond the arc to open the final period, tying the score at 43, and they took a 47-43 lead with 6:33 on the clock with another three. Alisha Cruz-Lisberg had the answer for Ventura, however, scoring at the rim in transition on the next two possessions to put VC ahead for good. Gallick scored inside, Torres-Reyes hit a three from out top, and Edelhart scored a deuce to complete an 11-0 Pirate run, giving them a nin-point edge, 56-47, with 3:26 left to play. Gallick scored two free throws and a bucket, and Cruz-Lisberg hit from the charity stripe to set the final 61-56 margin.
The Pirates shot 46 percent from the floor (26-57) and outrebouded the Gladiators, 47-34, but also committed a season-high 21 turnovers.
Next up in the semifinals of the Gilcrest Tournament is College of the Sequoias on Friday Dec. 2 at 7:00 pm. The hosts will enter the game at 8-0 on the year and VC is 6-0. Butte and San Joaquin Delta will play in the other semifinal on Friday at 5pm.