Lumas Drops 30 to Lead Ventura Comeback

Pirate freshman Kayla Lumas dropped 30 points, 28 in the second half, to lead the VC women's basketball team to a 57-52 comeback victory over East Los Angeles Saturday at Oxnard College to close the Kiwanis Crossover. Lumas was 9-10 from the floor, including a 3-pointer, and 9-9 from the free throw line to bring Ventura back from a 26-11 halftime deficit. She also secured a team-best six rebounds and grabbed a pair of steals in the win.

Ventura's offense faced stiff headwinds in the first half as the Huskies limited the Pirates to six and five points, respectively, in the first and second quarters. East LA led VC 26-11 at intermission.

The Huskies expanded their lead to 20 points, 31-11, early in the third period before Lumas' lay-up at the 8:24 mark of the period started the VC comeback. Two free throws and bucket and an3-point play by the Oxnard High School product gave her a personal 9-0 run and closed the gap to 31-11 two minutes later. Charnelle Nichols added a three and Olivia Decierdo hit one of two free throws to shrink the deficit to single digits, 35-26. Lumas then scored six of the final eight points of the stanza, with Sofia Salgado also hitting two charity shots, and VC trailed 37-34 at the quarter break.

Lumas hit a jumper and Alyssa Ballesteros hit from range before Riannah Lopez's deuce tied the game at 41 with 7:46 remaining. The teams traded small leads until the final minute of play when Lumas sank two free throws to give Ventura the lead for good, 52-50. VC went 5-8 at the foul line down the stretch to preserve the 57-52 victory.

The Pirates (4-3) next host Compton on Wednesday Nov. 26 at 7:00 pm.