In an extremely physical contest, VC's Kylie Gallick sliced Santa Barbara up for the Pirates' first-ever 30-20 double-double leading to a 61-43 Ventura victory. The sophomore scored a career high 32 points with 21 boards and added five steals to pace VC while Kenya Edelhart scored 11 points with six boards and three assists. Jasmine Glover netted seven points for the Pirates (19-7, 8-3) and Alina Olivo dropped three dimes in the win.
Santa Barbara held its only lead of the game on its opening basket. Gallick scored inside to even the score, and the Pirates slow-played a 12-3 run through much of the first quarter to take control of the contest. VC went 6-8 from the free throw line during the run, and Gallick, Edelhart and Tiernan Phillips all contributed buckets.
Edelhart and Gallick traded scores early in the second period as VC stretched its advantage to 23-8 three minutes in. The Pirates offense went cold for the next four-plus minutes, but VC's defense played just as well, stifling the Vaqueros at every turn. When Edelhart hit a charity shot at the 2:23 mark to end the skid, Ventura still led 24-11. Gallick made two more free shots and Edelhart scored on a string drive to the bucket to put the Pirates ahead 28-13 at halftime.
Gallick was dominant after halftime, scoring 15 of Ventura's 23 points in the third quarter. She started off with a pair of lay-ups and followed a field goal by Alisha Cruz-Lisberg with three free throws. Edelhart scored two and Gallick connected on a putback as the Pirates extended the lead to 41-17 with 5:04 left in the period. Santa Barbara responded with an 11-6 run to pull back to within 47-28 with 1:16 on the clock. Glover and Gallick each made a pair of free throws in the final minute of the quarter and the Pirates held a 51-31 lead headed to the last 10 minutes of play.
The Vaqueros attempted to climb back into the game early in the fourth, but Sofia Torres-Reyes hit a big bucket with 6:59 remaining to hold off the SBCC charge. Santa Barbara whittled the lead back down to 55-40 before Torres-Reyes hit another big shot with 4:19 on the clock. Santa Barbara never again got closer to the Pirates down the stretch as VC posted the 61-43 victory.
Gallick shot 10-13 from the floor and 12-14 at the free throw line for her 32 points. She hauled in 13 offensive rebounds in the game and eight defensively for her fourth 20+ rebound night of the season.
Ventura will close the regular season on Friday Feb. 17 at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria. VC will then host a playoff game on Wednesday Feb. 22 or Saturday Feb. 25.