VC Rolls Past Moorpark for Wild West Shootout Crown

The Pirates' women's basketball team used a stingy defense and another balanced scoring attack to defeat Moorpark 66-26 Sunday afternoon in the finals of the Wild West Shootout at West Los Angeles College in Culver City.  Aubri Smith was named he tournament Most Valuable Player with 13 points, five assists, two steals and a blocked shot in the win.

It was the fourth time in five weeks the Pirates played in a tournament championship game on a Sunday, and the third title claimed by the Pirates (12-3).

VC trailed 4-2 early when they broke out with a pair of Carolyn Ruffino 3-pointers and an old-fashioned 3-point play by Makenna Murray to take an 11-4 advantage with five minutes remaining in the opening quarter.  Amani White hit a pair of inside buckets and Kyleesha Green connected or a free throw to give Ventura a 16-7 advantage at the end of the period.

The Pirates scored 19 unanswered points to open the second quarter, taking a 36-7 advantage with 56 seconds remaining in the half.  The run featured five consecutive points by Aubri Smith, including a 3-pointer, and back-to-back threes from Felicia Magana.  Murray followed with her own triple and Marissa Hurtado scored inside off a Ruffino assist to complete the run.  Moorpark finished the period with three free throws in the final minute to amke the halftime score 36-10.

The Pirate defense limited the Raiders to 2-26 shooting in the opening half while hitting 42 percent of their shots from the floor (14-33) including six 3-pointers.  

The Pirates continued their dominance in the third quarter, receiving a spark from Shiloh Smith off the bench late in the period.  She connected for eight straight points, sandwiching an athletic drive through traffic for two in between a pair of treys to make the score 51-17 to close the third quarter. 

VC closed out the game with a strong effort in the fourth quarter behind the efforts of Magana and Shiloh Smith.  Rhiana Dougan also go into the act in the final minute with a three, the Pirates' ninth of the game, to make the final margin an even 40 points, 66-26.

White had a strong effort with 10 points, nine rebounds, five steals and two blocked shots.  Magana and Shiloh Smith each finished with 10 points as well, while Ruffino finished with eight points, five rebounds and three assists.  Murray also finished with eight points for Ventura.

The Pirates will take a few days off for the Christmas holiday before returning to practice in preparation for the VC-Optimist Club Holiday Tournament Dec. 28-30 at the Athletic Event Center.  Ventura will open with Rio Hondo at 7:00 pm on Monday Dec. 28.