2017-18 Ventura College Women's Basketball Team News
The Ventura College women's basketball team has been honored yet again for academic excellence, earning a place on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Academic Honor Roll for the 14th time in the past 15 years. The Pirates' 3.182 overall grade point average for the 2017-18 academic year placed the team 14th in the country for two-year colleges. Ventura is one of two schools from California to be honored, the other being Solano Community College who was ranked No. 17 on the list.
Ventura College sophomore Davina Del Castillo has been named second team All-State by the California Community College Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. The John Burroughs High School product becomes the 40th Pirate since 1986 to earn All-State honors. Del Castillo will be honored, along with the entire CCCWBCA All-State team, at Wednesday’s Banquet of Champions in Oxnard, held in conjunction with the CCCAA State Tournament being held at the VC Athletic Event Center beginning Thursday.
In the end, the game is about putting a basketball through a hoop. On Friday night, that proved to be a difficult task for the No. 5-seed Pirates' women's basketball team as they fell in the CCCAA SoCal Regional Semifinals 41-35 to No. 12 Cypress. Ventura (23-8) went ice cold from the floor, connecting on just 22 percent of their shots in the game despite a 17-point, eight-rebound effort from Davina Del Castillo. Jasmyne Martin added 11 points as VC had their season come to a close.
Pirate sophomore Davina Del Castillo has been named the Western State Conference North Division Co-MVP in voting by conference coaches earlier this week. The John Burroughs Hig School product was joined on the first-team All-WSC list by sophomores Jasmyne Martin and Celeste Salazar, and freshman Nikki Puga. Freshman Talitha Draper was named honorable mention all-conference. VC head coach Ned Mircetic was named Co-Coach of the Year.
The Ventura College women's basketball team has earned the No. 5 seed in the CCCAA SoCal Regional Playoffs. Ventura (23-7) will host No. 12 Cypress College (21-7) on Friday Feb. 23 at 7:00 pm at the Athletic Event Center. VC, the 28-peat champions of the Western State Conference North Division, did not play the Chargers this season. Cypress claimed a share of their third straight Orange Empire Conference title this season.
The Pirates' women's basketball team wrapped up the regular season with a strong performance Saturday, defeating Santa Barbara 64-42 at the Athletic Event Center. Jasmyne Martin had 14 points to lead a balanced scoring attack which saw all nine Pirates who played record a score. Davina Del Castillo totaled 13 points and Nikki Puga had nine. Melissa Ohmie pulled down 13 rebounds as Ventura won outright its 28th consecutive Western State Conference championship.
VC freshman Alaina Garcia made seven 3-pointers en route to a career 23 points as the VC women's basketball team defeated Oxnard 69-32 Wednesday night. Davina Del Castillo had 11 points and nine rebounds while Elissa Root netted 10 points with four assists. With the victory, the Pirates (22-7, 8-1) clinch at least a share of their 28th straight Western State Conference North Division championship, otherwise known as a 28-Peat.
The Pirates' women's basketball team dropped a difficult 56-55 decision to visiting Moorpark College on barbeque night at VC Saturday. Jasmyne Martin had 20 points to lead the Pirates while Nikki Puga totaled 12 points in the game. Davina Del Castillo pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Despite the loss, the Pirates (21-7, 7-1) remain alone in first place in the Western State Conference North Division, one game ahead of Moorpark with two games remaining.
Women's college basketball has been playing games with four quarters for almost three seasons, and for the first time Wednesday night, the Pirate defense held an opponent scoreless. Ventura's defense shut out the visiting Cuesta Cougars in the second period, leading VC to a 70-22 victory. Nikki Puga led the Pirates (21-6, 7-0) with her first career double-double, scoring 19 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Celeste Salazar had 12 points on four 3-pointers and pulled in six boards in the VC win.
Jasmyne Martin scored a game-high 25 points as the VC women's basketball team defeated Allan Hancock College 70-48 Saturday afternoon in Santa Maria. With the win, the Pirates firmly secured their spot in the driver's seat in the Western State Conference North Division race, moving two games ahead of second-place Hancock and Moorpark with four games remaining. Martin added five rebounds to her point total, and Davina Del Castillo scored 15 points with eight boards and six assists for Ventura (20-6, 6-0).
The Pirates' women's basketball team started slowly, but used a strong second quarter to pull away from Cuesta College in VC's 53-36 victory over the Cougars Wednesday evening in San Luis Obispo. Celeste Salazar and Nikki Puga each netted 12 points, Jasmyne Martin scored 11, and Davina Del Castillo posted her 14th double-double in 25 games for the Pirates (19-6, 5-0), who completed the first round of Western State Conference Nort Division play undefeated.
Its almost never easy when the Ventura College women's basketball team visits Santa Barbara, and Saturday night's contest at the SBCC Sports Pavilion was no exception. Nikki Puga came off the bench with a game-high 21 points and Davina Del Castillo posted her 13th double-double of the year with 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Pirates to a hard-fought 71-64 victory. Jasmyne Martin added 19 points as the Pirates (18-6, 4-0) remained perfect in Western State Conference North Division play.
The Ventura College women's basketball team posted a big victory over visiting Oxnard College Wednesday in the team's 11th Annual Ribbons of Life Breast Cancer Game. Jasmyne Martin totaled game-high point honors with 24, and Davina Del Castillo flirted with a triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals to lead the way while Melissa Ohmie had a double-double animal style with career-high's of 11 points and 14 boards for Ventura (17-6, 3-0).
Rivalry games can produce interesting moments in a basketball game, and the VC-Moorpark series has had its share. Now add Saturday's contest at Raider Pavilion. Ventura fell behind 9-0 and 13-2 early in the game before reserves Nikki Puga and Talitha Draper led the Pirates back to a 21-21 tie at halftime. Ventura went on to score 12 of the first 14 points of the second half and held on to a 47-39 victory over Moorpark. Puga led the way with 17 points in the game, including a career-high five made 3-pointers.
Each year, every member of the sophomore class of the Ventura College women's basketball team selects a "Favorite Teacher" based on their own personal criteria. 2017-18 is the 13th year in which the team has honored their favorite teachers, and 74 awards have been presented, including this year.
Jasmyne Martin had her best night of the season, hitting nine of 10 shots in the first half en route to a game-high 23 points, leading the Pirates to a 60-38 win over Allan Hancock College at the Athletic Event Center. Davina Del Castillo added 11 points and eight rebounds and Celeste Salazar handed out four assists in the Pirates' Western State Conference North Division opener. After the game, the Pirates honored their "Favorite Teachers" for 2018.
