Aubri Smith, Pericone-Kapp Propel Pirates into Driver's Seat

Aubri Smith nearly posted a triple-double and Micaela Pericone-Kapp nailed six 3-pointers to lead the VC women's basketball team to a 64-59 victory at Cuesta College Saturday night.  With the win, the Pirates (20-5, 7-0) secure the seat belt in the driver's seat in the Western State Conference North Division race and kick the Cougars out of the shotgun chair.  VC now holds a two-game lead over Cuesta and Moorpark with five games left in the regular season.

Pericone-Kapp started the night with a trey, but Cuesta came back and held an 11-5 advantage five minutes into the game.  Two buckets by Aubri Smith and a 3-pointer from Carolyn Ruffino put VC back on top, 12-11, with 13:14 on the clock.  After the Cougars answered with a three, the Pirates scored six straight points, a field goal each from Aubri Smith and Ruffino, and two free throws by Brooke Zamora, to take a 18-14 lead halfway through the opening period. Cuesta closed to within 22-21, but VC closed the half on a 7-2 run to take a 29-23 lead into the break.

Pericone-Kapp pushed the lead to 12, 35-23, with a pair of treys from Aubri Smith assists.  A lay-up by Christina Gonzalez and a drive from Zamora made the score 46-34 with 10:09 left in the contest. Following a Cuesta field goal, Pericone-Kapp hit another triple to give the Pirates their largest lead of the night, 49-36.  

Cuesta began a slow surge with four straight points that Pericone-Kapp answered with her sixth 3-pointer of the evening at the 7:50 mark.  With both defenses playing well, VC held on to a 54-42 advantage at the 5:54 mark on a field goal from Ruffino.  Cuesta went on a 7-0 run over the next two-plus minutes, however, making a game out of it in the end.  

Aubri Smith dished to Sandra Ortiz at the 2:20 mark to end the slide for the Pirates, and a big three from the left corner by Ruffino with 1:08 remaining made it 59-53 for VC.  Aubri Smith hit five of seven free throws in the final minute to seal the deal for Ventura.  Cuesta hit an inconsequential bucket at the buzzer to finalize the count at 64-59 for the Pirate victory.

Aubri Smith finished with 22 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, just one board off from a triple-double. Pericone Kapp was 6-9 from long range in scoring 20 points in the game. Ruffino had eight points and six boards in the win while Zamora and Ortiz each netted six points. The Pirates performed well despite missing starting guard Makenna Murray, who missed the game due to injury.

Ventura will return home to host Allan Hancock on Saturday Feb. 7.  It will also be Favorite Teacher Night for the Pirates, as the sophomores will honor their favorite teachers at halftime of the men's game.  The Pirate men will tip-off at 5:00 pm at the Athletic Event Center while the women are slated to begin around 7:00 pm.