Coubal, LeBrun Lead Ventura Victory over LA Pierce

VC forward Alexa Coubal scored a season-best 27 points and Daphné LeBrun handed out 10 assists to lead the Ventura College women's basketball team to a 66-47 victory over visiting Los Angeles Pierce College Saturday night. Coubal connected on 11 of 15 shots from the floor and was 5-7 at the foul line for her career high, and she pulled in 15 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the year. Alexis Howery added 13 points in the triumph for Ventura (12-7, 3-1).

The Pirates led wire-to-wire beginning with LeBrun's 3-pointer off a Howery pass on Ventrua's first possession of the game. Tiernan Phillips answered a Brahma bucket with an inside score and Sam McKenzie sandwiched a LeBrun free throw with a field goal and two charity tosses for a 10-2 VC lead midway through the first quarter. Howery cashed in LeBrun's assist for two on a fast break and nailed a three with 3:27 on the clock to give the Pirates a 16-8 margin. Ventura led 18-11 at the end of the first 10 minutes of play.

Howery opened the second period with a three, and Coubal scored back-to-back buckets around a Pierce two. LeBrun converted a drive for two and the Pirates led 27-14 midway through the stanza. Dani Henley hit a three at the 2:40 mark to extend the Pirate edge to 32-18 and Amari Hurt's bucket in the closing seconds of the half gave Ventura a 38-21 lead at intermission.

The Pirate express slowed a bit in the third quarter, but Coubal kept VC moving forward, scoring nine points in the stanza. Ventura led Pierce 48-35 headed to the final 10 minutes of play.

The Brahmas scored first in the fourth quarter to close to within 11 before Coubal began an 11-2 Ventura run with a pair of inside scores. McKenzie scored a lay-up and Coubal netted an old-fashioned 3-point play before Mykah Johnson's two free throws gave VC a 59-41 lead with 5:54 remaining. Howery provided the finishing touches for the Pirates with a three at the 2:12 mark and Ventura allowed just two points in the final five minutes of play to secure the 66-47 win. 

LeBrun scored six points in the victory while grabbing six rebounds and a pair of steals in addition to her double-digit assists. McKenzie added seven points and five caroms with a pair of helpers and Phillips tallied six points with five boards , two assists, two blocked shots and a steal. Leslie Salazar also pulled in five rebounds on the night. 

The Pirates next host Santa Barbara on Wednesday Jan. 24. Tip-off against the Vaqueros is slated for 7:00 pm.