Coubal's "Sweet" Performance Leads Pirates to Regional Final

Alexa Coubal had an all-state worthy performance Saturday with 31 points and 11 rebounds leading the No. 10-seeded Pirates to a 69-62 victory at No. 7 Irvine Valley. Sam McKenzie also posted a "20-piece" with 20 points, seven boards and three steals as VC advanced to the State "Sweet 16." Tiernan Phillips scored seven points with seven rebounds as Ventura (20-10) reached the 20-win plateau for the 33rd time in the past 34 seasons.

Ventura came in ready to play and matched the hosts through the first five minutes of play. McKenzie and Coubal scored early before Alexis Howery took a pass from Leslie Salazar and made a 3-pointer  to tie the score at 7-7 midway through the first quarter. Olivia Huynh hit a three off a drive and dish from McKenzie to give VC a 14-11 lead in the final minute of the period, then recorded a steal and assist on McKenzie's fast break score on the next possession. The Pirates led 16-12 after the first 10 minutes of play.

The Lasers, who were one of the state's top 3-point shooting team all season, took aim at the Pirates in the second quarter. They started off the stanza with a long-range bomb and t0ook a 20-18 lead with another shot from beyond the arc. IVC's third 3-pointer of the quarter put the Pirates behind 25-18 with 6:27 on the clock and the Lasers scored a lay-up to extend their advantage to nine, 27-18, less than a minute later. McKenzie stopped the bleeding for Ventura with her own 3-pointer from the left wing and Coubal's lay-up brought the Pirates back to within 27-23 at the 4:26 mark. McKenzie assisted a Coubal jumper soon thereafter, but Irvine answered with another triple. VC trailed at halftime 37-31.

The Pirates announced they were in the game to stay early in the third period when Howery assisted a Coubal lay-up and McKenzie drove for two, both in the opening minute of the half. Elena Ferrara scored a lay-up at the 7:47 mark to pull Ventura to within 39-37 before another IVC three opened the margin back up. Irvine led 48-42 with 5:39 remaining in the period before McKenzie scored on another drive to begin a 9-3 Pirate run to close the period. Coubal made a pair of free throws, then answered a Laser bucket with her own deuce off of Phillips' dime. McKenzie tied the game at 49 from the charity stripe and Coubal made a mid-range jumper in the final minute to give VC a 51-49 lead. The Lasers scored the final points of the quarter as the teams went into the final period tied at 51.

Mykah Johnson hit a foul shot with 8:57 remaining in the game to knot the count at 53-53 before Coubal gave the Pirates the lead for good with an old-fashioned 3-point play with 7:34 on the clock. Coubal followed with two free throws and McKenzie hit one of two at the foul line. Later, Phillips' steal led to another inside score by Coubal at the 3:23 mark to close an 8-0 VC run.  Despite the Lasers' best efforts, Ventura wa not going to be denied down the stretch, making eight of 12 free throws in the final minute-plus of play to seal the upset win.

Coubal, who was left off the all-state list despite averaging 16 points and 11 rebounds per game in the regular season while shooting 51 percent from the field and 82 percent from the free throw line, was 10-14 from the floor against the Lasers while making 11 of 12 free throws en route to her career-high scoring total.  She also added a pair of block defensively. 

Meanwhile, McKenzie made five of nine shots from the floor and shot 9-14 from the free throw line. She also added three steals and a pair of assists.

Salazar dropped three dimes in the game while Phillips and Ferrara each had a pair of assists. Ferrara also totaled five rebounds in the game.

Ventura moves forward to the 3C2A Southern California Regional Final scheduled for Saturday March 9. The No. 10-seeded Pirates will travel to No. 2 Moorpark withe an appearance in the 3C2A State Elite Eight on the line at Raider Pavilion.