VC sophomore Marissa Hurtado had a big second half with nine points, six rebounds, a block and a steal to help lead the Pirates past a relentless Cypress Charger team 70-62 Saturday night in the semifinals of the Buddy's All-Star LAVC Classic. Aubri Smith had 17 points for Ventura, who advances to the tournament final Sunday at 4:00 pm against San Bernardino Valley.
The Pirates led wire to wire, jumping out to an early 5-0 lead on a jumper by Auibri Smith and a 3-pointer from Carolyn Ruffino. The Pirates continued to build their advantage with a putback by Tatum Maciel and a trey from Aubri Smith, and Ruffino's second triple of the quarter made the score 18-10 with 3:17 on the clock. Aubri Smith hit a jumper in the closing seconds of the period to give Ventura a 20-12 lead at the buzzer.
Maciel and Amani White each hit free throws early in the second quarter to put the Pirates ahead 22-12, but the VC offense sputtered, failing to hit a field goal for nearly eight minutes. Kyleesha Green's charity toss at the 2:44 mark broke a 7-0 Charger run, and when White hit a lay-up with 2:10 remaining in the half, Ventura led 25-19. Aubri Smith's 3-pointer with six seconds remaining gave the Pirates a 31-23 halftime advantage.
Makenna Murray took over for VC in the third quarter, scoring seven of the Pirates' first nine points. Her free throw with 6:46 on the clock gave Ventura a 40-30 advantage. The Pirates would not sc ore for the next four minutes, however, and Cypress scored the next 10 points of the contest to tie the game at 40 with 3:51 remaining in the third quarter. Hurtado took over from there, converting a second-chance opportunity into an old-fashioned 3-point play to put the Pirates back on top with 2:30 left. Aubri Smith hit a pair of free throws with four ticks remaining to give Ventura a 47-44 advantage after three quarters.
Murray's made jumpshot off of White's assist put VC ahead by five, 49-44, early in the final period. The Chargers kept coming, however, closing back to within a point before Hurtado converted another lay-up off of an assist by Green. Hurtado hit another lay-up to make the score 55-50 at the 3:57 mark, and following two Cypress free throws, Alex Kalmbach nailed a 3-pointer to extend the lead to six, 58-52, with 2:50 remaining to play. Two more free throws from Hurtado made the lead eight points, and the Pirates maintained the advantage from the free throw line down the stretch for the 70-62 victory.
Murray scored 14 points, 11 in the second half, with eight rebounds while White had eight points with a dominating 15 rebounds to go along with four blocks and three steals. Green finished with 10 points and three assists, guiding the team down the stretch after Aubri Smith fouled out with 4:50 left in the game.
The Pirates advance to the tournament final for the fourth time in the past five years. They will play San Bernardino Valley, who defeated the hosts LA Valley monarchs 59-55 in the evening's second semifinal. Tip-off between the Pirates and Wolverines is scheduled for 4:00 pm.