Ventura Pushes Moorpark Before Fading Late

The VC women's basketball team gave a great effort Saturday, holding an eight point advantage early in the fourth quarter before fading late in their 59-50 setback against Moorpark. Sam McKenzie scored 11 points and Alexa Coubal netted 10 with eight rebounds to lead the Pirates (16-9, 7-2). Alexis Howery stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, six boards, four steals and an assist and Daphné LeBrun also scored nine points.

The Pirates took an early 3-2 lead on McKenzie's 3-pointer before Moorpark went on a slow but steady 9-0 run to take an 11-3 lead with 4:07 left in the opening period. LeBrun broke the VC skid with a three, but the Raiders continued to expand their edge. Howery had a steal and lay-up late in the quarter and Moorpark led 17-8 following the first 10 minutes of play.

MC scored on their opening possession of the second quarter for a 19-8 lead before Coubal scored on the next trip down the floor to begin a 16-0 Pirate run over the next seven minutes of game time. Howery hit from range off a pass by Leslie Salazar and Coubal scored a pair of free throws. LeBrun scored another three and Howery's defensive rebound led to her lay-up at the other end to put Ventura ahead 20-19 with 4:13 left in the first half. McKenzie followed with a steal and lay-up and Coubal hit two more free shots for a 24-19 Pirate margin at the 2:36 mark. MC came back with six straight points to retake the lead but LeBrun's three in the final minute had VC ahead 27-25 at halftime.

The game remained tight throughout the third period with six ties and two lead changes in the first eight minutes. McKenzie's jumper with 8:00 on the clock put Ventura ahead 29-27 and Howery's steal and lay-up tied the game at 31 midway through the stanza. Salazar made a lay-up and Tiernan Phillips hit a couple of free throws before Coubal scored two more charity shots to keep the Pirates holding a slight edge. Phillips' jumper from the right baseline made it 39-37 with 1:48 left before Salazar's two free shots extended the VC lead to four. Salazar then scored a lay-up in the final minute for a 6-0 run and a 43-37 Pirate lead at the quarter break.

Howery grabbed another steal on the first possession in the final period and McKenzie turned that into a lay-up for a 45-37 Pirate advantage. Unfortunately, the Ventura offense struggled from that point and the Raiders scored the next eight points to tie the game with 7:35 left to play. Coubal scored inside to reestablish a VC advantage, but Moorpark countered with another 11-point run to put the game out of reach. Elena Ferrara made a free throw with 1:11 remaining, and McKenzie's jump shot reduced the margin to 57-50 in the final minute, but the Pirates could not close the gap.

Salazar finished the game with six points and four rebounds and Phillips pulled down six boards in the game. McKenzie also grabbed four caroms.

Ventura will look to rebound on Wednesday Feb. 14, traveling to Los Angeles Pierce College.