Pirates On Target, Move to ToC Finals

It didn't take long for the Ventura College women's basketball team to determine the outcome of their VC-Kiwanis Tournament of Champions semifinal game against Santa Monica Saturday night. Behind the sharp-shooting of Carolyn Ruffino, Ventura raced to a 32-7 lead after one quarter, defeating the Corsairs 92-49 at the Athletic Event Center.  VC advances to the tournament final on Sunday Nov. 29 against Mt. San Antonio College with the tip-off scheduled for 4:00 pm.

The Pirates (5-0) jumped out to a 13-0 lead in just four-plus minutes of action.  Ruffino hit a pair of 3-pointers and Aubri Smith and Brooke Zamora also connected from long-range in the game-opening run. A bucket from Alex Kalmbach, and two more threes from Ruffino and Aubri Smith, respectively, made it 21-5 with 3:57 still remaining in the opening period. Ruffino closed out the quarter with another trey, and that was followed by a field goal by Aubri Smith, a 3-pointer from Tatum Maciel, and a basket by Makenna Murray to put Ventura ahead 32-7 after 10 minutes of play.

VC continued the onslaught in the second period, opening up a 30-point advantage when Maciel assisted a lay-up by Amani White, making the score 41-11 with 6:53 om the clock.  Reserves Sienna Brown and Mary Shirley also got into the act in the second quarter, as did Kyleesha Green.  The Pirates headed into halftime leading 56-20.

VC did not cool off in the third quarter as Ruffino hit three more triples in the first five minutes of play. Murray also hit from long range as the Pirates opened up their largest lead of the game, 76-24, with 4:04 remaining.  The margin gave all 16 players a chance at extended minutes in the second half, and Felicia Magana became the sixth Pirate to hit a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter.  In all, 14 players scored and 14 players had a rebound for VC in the game as they sailed to the 92-49 win over the Corsairs.

Ruffino led the way with 21 points, connecting on seven of eight 3-point attempts. White had 14 points after shooting 6-7, all in the second quarter, and six rebounds. Aubri Smith finished two assists shy of a triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and eight dimes while Kalmbach had six points and six assists. Green added four assists and four steals to her six points and Maciel also had four assists.

Ventura shot 13-19 from behind the 3-point arc for 68.4 percent, the fourth-best total in program history and the best shooting night since February 5, 2000.  The Pirates connected for a 58 percent clip from the floor overall (37-64), the best mark since the 2014 season.  The 92 points is also the highest total since the 2014 playoffs.

Ruffino's seven made 3-pointers is tied for the fourth-best effort in school history. (Erika Ward '10 holds the single-game record with 10 against Cuesta in 2009.)

The victory sets up a showdown between the Pirates (5-0), ranked No. 2 in the preseason SoCal poll, and No. 1-ranked Mt. San Antonio (6-0).  This will be the 10th time in the 18-year history of the tournament that the Pirates and Mounties have faced off in the final.  Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 pm, following games featuring Laney vs. Contra Costa (12:00 pm) and Diablo Valley vs. Santa Monica (2:00 pm).