Pirates Overmatch Condors in Big Victory

The Pirates' women's basketball team overmatched visiting Oxnard Saturday with a 93-23 victory at the Athletic Event Center. Sofia Torres-Reyes scored 20 points and Jasmine Glover recorded a career-high 16 points to lead a 43-point effort by the VC bench. Kenya Edelhart netted 14 and Tiernan Phillips shot 5-5 from the floor for 10 points. The 70-point margin of victory Wednesday was the largest for the Pirates since Ventura defeated LA Pierce 114-39 on Feb. 12, 2014.

The outcome of the contest was settled in the first few minutes of the game when the Pirates (16-6, 5-2) moved out to a 9-0 lead early. Alisha Cruz-Lisberg made a pair of free throws and Edelhart followed on the next possession, cashing in a dime from Torres-Reyes for three. Cruz-Lisberg followed with a pair of mid-range jumpers for the 9-0 advantage with 5:54 remaining in the first quarter. Following a Condor 3-pointer, VC went on a 12-0 run to seal the deal early. Torres-Reyes sandwiched a pair of buckets around two three's by Jocelyn Contreras, then Contreras closed the run with a fast break score assisted by Edelhart. Ventura led 26-6 at the end of one quarter.

The lead continued to grow in the second behind a barrage of three's by the Pirates. Torres-Reyes hit for three the old-fashioned way before Glover connected from range. glover then helped a triple from Edelhart and Alina Olivo later assisted a long-range bomb by Torres-Reyes. After four straight points by Talitha Draper, Torres-Reyes closed the first half with another shot from beyond the arc for a 48-8 halftime margin.

The Pirates continued to play well despite the large lead throughout the second half. Ventura started off the third quarter wit h3-pointers from Edelhart, Glover and Torres-Reyes, and Kylie Gallick pushed the advantage to 62-11 with a bucket at the 5:54 mark of the period. Dani Henley got into the act with a triple off an Edelhart assist and Glover hit again from range to push Ventura to a 77-17 margin after three quarters.

The Pirate bench played some well-earned extended minutes in the final stanza, and continued to build on the margin. Phillips went 5-5 from the floor in the quarter, and Alexis Howery scored a fast break from another dime by Olivo. Henley also converted a pass from Olivo and Howery scored a pair of free throws to set the final 93-23 margin.

Ventura dominated the boards 47-22 with a total team effort, led by seven rebounds by Glover and Phillips and five by Olivo and Cruz-Lisberg. The Pirates also recorded 20 assists in the game including five from Cruz-Lisberg and four by Olivo and Edelhart. glover led the defense with four steals and Torres-Reyes grabbed three thefts. Contreras netted eight points with four rebounds and Draper scored seven.

VC next travels to San Luis Obispo on Wednesday Feb. 1 to battle Cuesta. Game time is slated for 5:00 pm and will be followed by the Pirate men at 7:00 pm.