WBB Continues Rise With Victory Over Long Beach

Long Beach and Ventura are two of the state's heavyweights, both looking to rise to the level that led them to a Regional Final meeting a year ago.  The Pirates won the battle last year, and topped the Vikings again Saturday night with a 53-49 victory at the Athletic Event Center. Makenna Murray was tops for VC (10-5) with 16 points and six rebounds on the night.

The Vikings scored on the first possession, but that was answered by a shot in the paint by Brooke Zamora.  The freshman hit VC's next bucket as well, and Murray and Erin Ross each netted scores as the Pirates held an early 8-2 advantage.  The lead stretched to 11-4 on Murray's 3-pointer from a Zamora assist with 15:05 remaining in the opening period.  

LBCC cut the Pirate advantage to 13-11 at the 12:11 mark when Aubri Smith scored a deuce after an offensive board by Zamora.  Zamora then scored another field goal at the 9:05 mark to make the score 17-13, but that would be the Pirates' last field goal of the half.  Micaela Pericone-Kapp added a pair of free throws with 6:50 on the clock, and Ventura did not score for the rest of the stanza.

Luckily, the Pirate defense held fast, limiting the Vikings on the offensive end as well.  Long Beach managed to tie the score at 19-19 at the 2:00 mark, and hit a charity toss with 16 seconds on the clock for their 20-19 halftime advantage.

LBCC opened the second half with two baskets in the paint before Murray's make ended nearly nine-minutes of Pirate futility at the 17:55 mark.  Aubri Smith assisted Murray's 3-pointer on the next possession and the score was tied at 24-24.

The Vikings scored six quick points to take a 30-24 lead, but the Pirates kept plugging away.  Murray hit a free throw at the 12:37 mark, and Carolyn Ruffino made a jumper on the next possession to put VC back in control.  Long Beach answered with a 3-pointer, when Felicia Magana answered with her own big triple to put the Pirates ahead for good.  Zamora assisted Madison O'Donnell's bucket, and Murray hit another deuce to give Ventura a 44-38 advantage with 8:22 on the clock.

Zamora scored to give VC a 46-39 lead, and O'Donnell's drive and lay-up at the 4:29 mark made the score 49-41.  Long Beach kept up the fight, however, closing to within 49-47 over the next two minutes.  The score remained that way until Aubri Smith nailed two big free throws with 30 seconds on the clock.  Long Beach came down and scored with 13 ticks on the clock, and a Pirate turnover gave the ball back to the Vikings, but a 3-point attempt fell short, and Pericone-Kapp sealed the win with two more free throw makes.

While Murray paced the VC offense, she had help from Aubri Smith who totaled nine points with seven rebounds and three assists.  Zamora finished with eight points, eight boards and three dimes and Pericone-Kapp had seven points and five rebounds.  O'Donnell led Ventura with nine rebounds in the game.  As a team, the Pirates outrebounded the bigger Vikings 47-41, and only had 13 turnovers in the contest.

The Pirates break for Christmas before hosting the VC-Optimist Club Holiday Tournament on Dec. 28-30 at the Athletic Event Center.  Ventura opens with Southwestern College on Sunday Dec. 28 at 7:00 pm.