2015-16 Ventura College Women's Basketball Team News
Ventura College freshman transfer Alex Kalmbach has signed a scholarship to continue her academic and athletic careers at NCAA Division I Pepperdine University this fall. Kalmbach, who transferred to VC from Oregon State where she redshirted in 2014-15, will have three years of eligibility with the Waves of the West Coast Conference.
For the 12th time in the past 13 seasons, the VC women's basketball team has earned recognition on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll for junior and community colleges.
Two-year All-State point guard Aubri Smith has signed a National Letter of Intent to continue her academic and basketball careers next year at Cal State Monterey Bay. The 2015 Western State Conference MVP started every game of her Pirate career, helping lead Ventura to a combined 52-11 record over her two seasons, including a perfect 24-0 mark in conference play.
Pirate sophomore Aubri Smith has been named first-team All-State for the second consecutive season by the California Community College Women's Basketball Coaches Association. The Buena High School product averaged 11.2 points, 5.1 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game for the Pirates, who posted a 26-5 overall record, including a perfect 12-0 mark the Western State Conference for the program’s 26th straight conference crown.
Six Ventura College women’s basketball players have been named to the All-Western State Conference team for the 2015-16 season. Earning first-team nods were the five Pirate sophomore starters: Makenna Murray, Carolyn Ruffino, Aubri Smith, Amani White and Brooke Zamora. Freshman Kyleesha Green was named honorable mention All-WSC by the conference coaches.
The Pirates' women's basketball team did not have their best game, but they kept scratching, clawing and fighting to save the season. An Aubri Smith lay-up gave the Pirates a two point lead with 2:50 remaining in the game, but Ventura could not hold on, falling 72-65 in he CCCAA SoCal Regional Quarterfinals. The loss ends Ventura's season with a 26-5 record.
The Pirates' women's basketball team has earned the No. 3 seed in the 2016 CCCAA Southern California Regional Playoffs. VC will host Pasadena or Rio Hondo on Saturday Feb. 27 at 7:00 pm at the Athletic Event Center. This is the fifth year in a row, and eight time in the past nine seasons, that Ventura has earned a top-4 seed in the regional bracket.
What is rare is commonplace at Ventura College. The Pirates' women's basketball team closed out its 20th perfect Western State Conference campaign in the past 26 years, all WSC championships, with a 61-49 victory at Oxnard College Saturday afternoon. Aubri Smith had 17 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals while Amani White posted a double-double of 12 points and 10 boards to lead the way.
An up and down season for the Pirates' women's basketball team took a decidedly upward swing on Wednesday. Behind strong performances from Kyleesha Green and Brooke Zamora, VC defeated visiting Santa Barbara 88-54 on sophomore night at the Athletic Event Center. Ventura played fast, strong and together as the regular season entered its final week with the post-season looming on the horizon.
The California Community College Athletic Association has announced its academic awards for the 2014-15 year, and the Ventura College is home to two State Scholar Team recipients. Both the women's basketball and men's tennis teams earned the highest academic team achievement given annually by the CCCAA.
The struggle continued Wednesday for the VC women's basketball team, but a strong second half performance turned a 10-point halftime lead into a 69-32 runaway at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria. VC trailed 15-14 midway through the second quarter before turning things around in the victory. With the win, and a loss by second-place Oxnard College, the Pirates claimed outright their 26th consecutive Western State Conference championship.
Rhiana Dougan came off the bench to score 11 points, and Lexy Hinojosa had seven points in the second quarter to spark the Ventura past Los Angeles Pierce 58-37 Saturday night on Barbeque Night at VC. The game was held in conjunction with the 17th Annual Men's and Women's Basketball Barbeque Fundraiser hedl in the VC Sportsplex.
The final score read Ventura 62, Moorpark 47, but the victory did not feel good. Over the years, the Raiders and Pirates have played some great games with VC coming out on top 56 straight times in the past 26 years, but Wednesday's result at the Athletic Event Center left something to be desired. Ventura turned in a sub-par effort as the season's journey moved to its final full month.
The Pirates' women's basketball team used a strong second half to surge past host Cuesta College 75-34 Saturday night in San Luis Obispo. VC led 30-23 at halftime before hitting their first five shots of the third quarter, outscoring the Cougars 45-11 in the final 20 minutes. Rhiana Dougan led the way with 16 second-half points and Brooke Zamora had a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds.
The Pirates have relied on team balance for much of their success this season. That balance was on full display Wednesday as seven players scored seven or more points in Ventura's 77-57 victory over surging Oxnard College. VC used a decisive 32-11 second quarter to defeat the Condors, putting them, and the rest of the Western State Conference field at least two games back in the standings through one round of conference play.
A strong third quarter helped push the Ventura College women's basketball team to a 77-67 victory at Santa Barbara City College Saturday night. Aubri Smith led the effort with 19 points on 7-10 shooting from the floor along with six rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. Amani White threw in a double-double of 11 points and 13 boards in the win for the Pirates.
