The Ventura College women's basketball team capped the 2016-17 season by sending five student athletes to four-year universities with four planning on continuing their basketball careers on athletic scholarships. The quintet adds to a long line of four-year transfers in the 27-year tenure of head coach Ned Mircetic. Since 1990-91, at least 134 Pirates have matriculated to four-year schools, with 68 of those transfers also continuing their basketball careers.
Western State Conference MVP and first-team All-State selection Katie Campbell (Oaks Christian HS) has signed with NCAA Division I Gonzaga University. She is the 24th Pirate alumna to move on to Division I from VC since 1991 and the fifth in the past four years.
Meanwhile, second-team All-State guard Kyleesha Green (Ventura HS) is headed to NAIA University of Antelope Valley in Lancaster. First-team All-WSC guard Rhiana Dougan (Garces Memorial HS) will also continue her academic and athletics careers at the NAIA level at Hope International University in Fullerton while first-team All-WSC forward Sienna Brown (Burroughs HS) heads to the University of St. Mary in Leavenworth, Kan., also an NAIA school.
Sophomore forward Christina Gonzalez (Pacifica HS) has earned acceptance to Long Beach State and will continue her studies there.
The 2016-17 Pirates finished with an overall record of 28-6, advancing to the CCCAA State Final Four for a record 15th season. They posted a 10-0 mark in WSC North Division play, good for the program's 27th consecutive conference title. More importantly, the team had a 3.325 grade point average for the academic year, good for seventh-place nationally on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Academic Honor Roll, the 13th time in the past 14 years the Pirates have appeared on the national list.