VC Falls Late to Trade Tech

The Pirates' women's basketball team held a late lead against Los Angeles Trade Tech Saturday, but ultimately fell to the Beavers 66-63 at the Athletic Event Center. Kayla Lumas led the way for Ventura with 23 points and Riannah Lopez tallied 22 in the setback. Sienna Angell scored seven points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:39 remaining in the game, six assists and three steals. Olivia Decierdo grabbed a team-high six rebounds in the contest.

Decierdo and Lopez got the Pirates off to a quick start with back-to-back three's for a 6-2 lead. Lopez scored another triple midway through the first quarter for a 9-8 Pirate advantage before the Beavers outscored the Pirates 9-4 to close the period.

In the second stanza, Lumas hit a deuce and a trey, and Lopez connected again from range to knot the score at 21 with 7:19 left before halftime. Lopez stayed hot with two more 3-pointers for a 28-23 margin at the 4:07 mark and Decierdo nailed a three for a 31-30 VC lead.  The Pirates trailed at intermission, 36-33.

Lumas scored a pair of free throws and Angell nailed a 3-pointer early in the second half to put Ventura back on top, 38-36. The teams battled back-and-forth for the remainder of the quarter until Alyssa Ballesteros broke a 46-46 tie with two charity shots. Lumas followed with two more free throws and Lopez hit a jumper for a 52-47 Pirate lead headed to the final 10 minutes.

Lumas hit from range with 7:18 remaining in the game for a 56-51 count, then made two free shots to maintain the five-point edge. Unfortunately, LATT went on a 7-0 run to take a 60-58 lead midway through the stanza before Angell's triple regained the advantage with her triple at the 2:38 mark. The Beavers responded with their own shot from beyond the arc before Ava Elliott made a lay-up in the final minute to knot the score at 63. Trade Tech scored the final three points of the game, however, to send VC to the narrow defeat.

Ventura returns to Western State Conference play on Wednesday Jan. 21 with a home game against Cuesta College at 7:00 pm.