The VC women's water polo team brought home fourth place from the Western State Conference Women's Water Polo Tournament Saturday after a hard-fought 8-5 loss to Cuesta College. Freshmen Kayla Wallace and Katie Heath each scored twice in the season finale for the Pirates held at Citrus College in Glendora.
The game was a close affair from the beginning with the teams fighting to a scoreless tie after one quarter of play. The Cougars gained the upper hand in the second period, posting a 4-2 halftime advantage with VC goals by Sabrina Cherfane and Wallace.
The Pirates (14-16, 3-6) got to within a single score on two occasions in the third period, at 4-3 on a goal by Wallace, and at 5-4 on a score from Heath. Cuesta maintained the one goal lead at the quarter break, then began to pull away in the final stanza. Heath scored Ventura's final goal to set the margin at 8-5.
Wallace added five steals, two drawn exclusions and an assist to her two goals and Cherfane had a steal and two exclusions with her score. Heath contributed two thefts along with her two goals while Katia Flores added two thefts and a helper. Sara McGuire totaled a drawn exclusion and an assist.
The loss ends the Pirates' season with a fourth place finish in the conference and a 14-16 overall record.