The Ventura College women's basketball team won the Vaquero Shootout championship with a 73-55 win over Cerritos Saturday evening at Glendale College.Tournament MVP Aubri Smith had 14 points and a team-high seven assists while All-tournament selection Amani White netted 14 points with a team-high nine rebounds. Carolyn Ruffino led the Pirates with 17 points, including a 4-8 shooting night from beyond the 3-point arc.
VC lead in the early going behind a bucket from Brooke Zamora and a triple and deuce from Ruffino. Makenna Murray's 3-pointer from the corner broke a 7-7 tie and the Pirates never looked back.The Pirates closed the first quarter on a 9-2 run, including three straight buckets from Aubri Smith, and they led 19-11 at the end of the first period.
White scored six straight points to begin the second quarter, and Ruffino closed out the half with a pair of treys in the final minute, including one that resulted in a 4-point play when she was fouled with 7.5 seconds remaining. VC held a 38-29 advantage at the break after the Falcons sank a half-court shot at the buzzer.
Ruffino and Zamora each hit from long range early in the second half and an Alex Kalmbach bucket at the 5:40 mark opened up a 48-33 lead. Ruffino hit two free throws on the next possession before the Pirate offense went cold. Cerritos was only able to score four points over the final five minutes of the third period, and Zamora's old-fashioned 3-point play with .4 left on the clock ended the third quarter with VC ahead 53-40.
Ventura's offense cooled from the field in the final 10 minutes with the team shooting 2-12, but they caught fire at the free throw line, shooting 16-16 from the charity stripe in the period. The Falcons were unable to make any headway into the Pirate advantage, and VC won going away, 73-55.
Zamora was VC's fourth player in double-figures with 16 points with six rebounds. Kalmbach added nine points with a pair of blocks and two steals.
The title was VC's 11th since first entering the tournament in 1998-99. The win was also the Pirates' first Shootout title since 2012.
Ventura heads home to the Athletic Even Center for the VC-Kiwanis Tournament of Champions Friday through Sunday, Nov. 27-29. They will open with Laney College on Friday at 6:00 pm, with Taft vs. Santa Monica at 2:00 pm, Canyons vs. Diablo Valley at 4:00 pm, and Mt. San Antonio vs. Contra Costa at 8:00 pm.
