After a convincing win in the quarterfinals, the Pirates' women's water polo team lost its quest for a conference championship in the Western State Conference semifinals Thursday afternoon at Citrus College. No. 3 seed Ventura (14-13) defeated No. 6 Pierce College 21-7 before falling 7-5 to No. 2 Santa Barbara.
Ventura 21, Pierce 7
Ventura dominated their quarterfinal match Thursday morning. They used an 8-2 third quarter to blow open an 8-4 halftime advantage. Melissa Robles le dthe offensive onslaught with five goals and an assist. Cecily Loya had three goals with ttwo assists and three steals while Cheyanne Irigoyen, Brittany Remo, Raquel Rodriguez and Reginae Maturino all scored two goals each. Jessica Gean had a score with four assists and Christina Tellez, Anjali Paramanandam, Danielle Pfeifer and brittany McWaid also scored one goal each.
Ventura 5, Santa Barbara 7
The Pirates fell behind early and never recovered in the defensive abttle against the No. 2 seeded Vaqueros. SBCC was ahead 2-0 after the first eight minutes, and held on to advance. McWaid scored twice with two assists and a pair of steals while Loya, Robles and Rodriguez all found the cage one time. Tellez battled illness to turn in a solid defensive performance with three steals. Miranda Campos recorded six saves.
Ventura is relegated to the third place game Saturday at 10:15 am at Citrus College in Glendora against Cuesta College.