Ventura unable to hold off Vaqueros

The VC women's basketball team held a four point lead entering the fourth quarter but were unable to hold off hard-charging Santa Barbara, falling to the Vaqueros 60-57 in the Western State Conference contest. Riannah Lopez scored 21 points and pulled in seven rebounds to lead the Ventura effort and Olivia Decierdo contributed 10 points, four boards and three assists. Kayla Lumas netted nine points with four steals.

The Pirates (7-10, 1-2) opened up with a 5-0 lead, and scored seven straight points after SBCC tied the game at 5-5. Ava Elliott had a lay-up and Lopez scored a two and a three to complete the run late in the first quarter. 

Lopez again hit from range early in the second period to extend the lead to eight points, 15-7, and nailed another three to maintain the advantage. Unfortunately, Santa Barbara responded with a 10-0 run before Decierdo hit a pair of free throws to tie the score at 20 with 2:14 left in the first half. Charnelle Nichols and Lopez followed with a pair of lay-ups to give VC a 24-20 edge, but the Vaqueros scored the next six points to lead 26-24 at halftime. 

Midway through the third quarter, VC retook the lead, opening up a 34-28 margin on Lumas' lay-up off an assist by Nichols. Nichols completed a 3-point play for a 37-24 lead, and Sienna Angell's lay-up with 2:02 remaining in the stanza stretched the margin to 39-34. Lumas was fouled on a 3-point attempt at the end of the quarter and made all three foul shots for a 44-40 advantage heading to the final 10 minutes of play.

Angell's jumper early in the fourth gave the Pirates a six-point edge, but a 13-2 run by SBCC flipped the script giving the Vaqueros a 56-50 edge in the final minute. The teams then traded free throws to set the final 60-57 margin.

The Pirates will return home on Saturday Jan. 17, hosting Los Angeles Trade Tech in their final non-conference game of the season at 3:00 pm at the Athletic Event Center.