The VC women's basketball team overcame a sluggish first quarter in defeating Los Angeles Pierce 74-53 in Woodland Hills Wednesday. Sam McKenzie led four Pirates in double-figures with 19 points and Alexa Coubal scored 13. Elena Ferrara and Alexis Howery contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively. McKenzie, Howery and Leslie Salazar grabbed seven rebounds each while Coubal and Tiernan Phillips each had six boards. Salazar also handed out seven assists and Phillips dropped five dimes.
The Pirates (17-9, 8-2) had a difficult time getting started as they managed just 10 points in the first quarter. Coubal made a free throw with 3:38 left in the period to put Ventura ahead 9-8 before the Brahmas closed the stanza on an 8-1 run. The Pirates trailed 16-10 at the quarter break.
Things got better quickly in the second quarter as Ventura raced out on a 17-4 run through the first five minutes of play. McKenzie got the ball rolling with a three and Coubal hit a jumper on the next trip down the floor. Following a Pierce bucket, Coubal scored again with a mid-range jumper and Ferrara assisted a 3-pointer by Howery for a 20-18 Pirate edge with 6:49 on the clock. McKenzie then made two free shots, followed by another three and a lay-up to make it 27-20 for VC at the 4:50 mark. Howery made a lay-up to stretch the lead to 10, 34-24, in the final minute of the half but the Brahmas netted the final two baskets to make it 34-28 at intermission.
The Pirate offense moved from a simmer to a boil in the third quarter as the outscored the Brahmas 28-9 in the period. McKenzie hit a triple before Ferrara sandwiched a pair of treys around a Pierce bucket for a 43-30 score. Howery followed with a 15-footer in the key from a pass by Coubal, then she had a steal and lay-up to extend the margin to 47-30 with 6:27 remaining. Mykah Johnson and Coubal scored on consecutive trips to make it a 20-point game, 55-35. Howery and Johnson followed with back-to-back deuces and Ferrara's score in the final seconds of the period put Ventura ahead 62-37.
Pierce started the final quarter on a 6-0 run before Dani Henley ended the skid with a lay-up off of Salazar's assist. Ventura maintained the margin throughout the remainder of the period in posting the 74-53 victory.
Phillips and Howery each grabbed three steals for the Pirate defense. McKenzie and Coubal each had two thefts and Amari Hurt was credited for two blocked shots.
Ventura continues Western State Conference play on Saturday Feb. 17 at Santa Barbara. Tip-off at the SBCC Sports Pavilion is slated for 5:00 pm.