Strong First Half Moves VC Past Long Beach

The Ventura College women's basketball team shot 62 percent in the first half and opened up a 53-26 lead at halftime in their 85-57 victory over Long Beach Saturday in the VC-Kiwanis Tournament of Champions finale. Kylie Gallick led VC with another In-N-Out double-double of 28 points and 17 rebounds and Sofia Torres-Reyes totaled 15 points with five boards. Kenya Edelhart netted 13 points with four assists in limited action and Jasmine Glover totaled 11 points in the victory for the Pirates (5-0).

VC was on fire early, making 10 of their first 12 field goal attempts to go ahead 22-7 six minutes into the game. Gallick started the run with an inside score off an assist by Jocelyn Contreras and Edelhart hit a pull-up jumper and a three on back-to-back trips down the floor. Alisha Cruz-Lisberg made a slicing lay-up for a 9-0 lead and Torres-Reyes converted Edelhart's dime for two on the next possession. Edelhart connected for another deuce and Gallick made one of two free throws for a 16-5 margin with 5:39 remaining in the first quarter. Glover then sandwiched a pair of lay-ups around a field goal by Torres-Reyes and Ventura led 22-7 with 4:06 on the clock. Edelhart converted another shot from the field and assisted a bucket by Gallick as the Pirates held a 26-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The pace continued for VC in the second quarter. Contreras connected on a pair of fast break lay-ups and Cruz-Lisberg assisted a Gallick deuce. Alina Olivo found the bottom of the net on a strong drive and Contreras connected from range to make it 41-22 with 3:51 on the clock. Gallick scored eight points down the stretch to intermission and the Pirates led the Vikings 53-26 at the break.

Long Beach showed some signs of life in the second half. After Contreras scored on the Pirates' first possession, the Vikings went on a 13-0 run over four minutes to close to within 55-38.  Gallick got Ventura on target with a bucket and an assist to a three by Torres-Reyes. Gallick then hit a jumper at the 3:47 mark to end a 7-0 VC run for a 62-38 margin. Dani Henley's baseline jumper from Torres-Reyes' dime extended the lead to 25, 66-41, and the Pirates led 68-45 at the quarter break.

Glover was feeling it in the final period as she scored seven straight points at one point. Gallick's 3-point play with 1:43 remaining gave Ventura its largest lead of the game, 32 points at 85-53, as the Pirates posted the 85-57 victory.

Contreras added nine points and a pair of assists to the effort and Olivo grabbed seven rebounds in her 14 minutes of play. Glover added six boards to her double-figure scoring night.

The Pirates will get a well-deserved rest for the Thanksgiving Holiday before traveling to the 41st Tom Gilcrest Invitational at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia Dec. 1-3. VC opens with Chabot College on Dec. 1 at 7:00 pm in the state's most-storied tournament.