Pirates Let Late Lead Slip Away in ToC Final

In a closely fought contest with Final Four intensity, the Pirates' women's basketball team could not hold a four point lead in the final 19.8 seconds, falling 74-73 to Sierra College on a last-second shot in the finals of the VC-Kiwanis Tournament of Champions Sunday.  Katie Campbell earned all-tournament honors with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists to lead the Pirates.  Kyleesha Green netted 15 points with eight boards and four dimes.

The Pirates (3-2) fell behind 5-0 in the first minute to Northern California's preseason No. 1-ranked team.  Campbell got VC on the board with a free throw at the 8:32 mark of the first quarter, and her 3-point play made it 8-4. The Wolverines augmented their advantage to 12-4 with 6:25 on the clock before Campbell made a field goal and Christina Gonzalez nailed a 3-pointer to begin the Ventura comeback.  All-tournament selection Davina Del Castillo followed with a lay-up, and Campbell hit from range to put VC ahead 13-12 with 3:01 remaining.  Gonzalez hit a deuce and a trey to complete the 15-0 Pirate run before Sierra closed out the quarter with a bucket, making it 19-14 after one period.

Campbell's step-back three at the 8:44 mark of the second quarter extended the Pirate lead to seven, 25-18, before Sierra came back with their own 12-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 30-25 lead.  Simone Lewis broke the VC skid with a triple on a helper from Green, and Campbell connected on a lay-up to tie the game at 30. The Wolverines scored the next six points before Gonzalez hit another three and Lewis connected for a bucket to make it 36-34 at halftime.

The teams traded buckets early in the second half before Green and Campbell connected on back-to-back possessions for a 44-41 Pirate advantage.  Rhiana Dougan cashed in an assist from Del Castillo for a 3-point play to extend the lead to six with 5:18 left in the stanza.  Sierra tied the game at 52-52 at the 2:39 mark, and Campbell, Green and Gonzalez hit shots for a 58-55 lead. Green's free throw in the final second of play made it 59-55 at the quarter break.

Green scored on a lay-up and Campbell hit two free throws to begin the final period, and the Pirates had their biggest lead of the game at 63-55 with 8:10 remaining.  The Pirate offense went cold, however, going nearly six minutes without a field goal as the Wolverines made their comeback.  VC missed eight straight shots, and made one of two free throws before Sierra tied the score at 64-64 with 2:15 remaining.  Sienna Brown hit a jumper on the next possession, and Del Castillo answered a Sierra basket with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Ventura a 69-66 edge with 1:22 left.

Ventura got a defensive rebound with 58 seconds remaining, and called timeout to advance the ball.  On the inbounds play, Del Castillo was fouled and made one of two charity shots to make it a four point Pirate lead, 74-66.  On the next possession, Sierra hit a long three to close to within one, but the Pirates answered with three free throws from Dougan with 19.1 seconds on the clock.

Down by four, Sierra managed another long triple, and VC called their final timeout with 10.8 seconds left to advance the ball once again.  The Pirates were unable to get the ball inbounds, however, giving the turnover back to the Wolverines, who advanced the ball with their own timeout.  on the ensuing play, Sierra drive the right side and had a bank shot roll in with 0.4 seconds left, and the final horn ended the game with the Wolverines on top, 74-73.

Gonzalez finished with a career-high 13 points with six rebounds and Del Castillo had nine points, four assists and three boards. Brown had six points with seven rebounds and Dougan also scored six points.

Ventura will regroup in the coming week as they head north to the Tom Gilcrest Invitational at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia Dec. 1-4.  The Pirates open with their first-ever meeting with Mission College from Santa Clara on Thursday Dec. 1 at 1:00 pm.