Pirates Fall in Season Opener at Shootout

The VC women's basketball team dropped its 2024-25 season opener Friday, falling 66-41 to Irvine Valley College at the Wild West Shootout at West Los Angeles College in Culver City. Alanna Topete scored 12 points in her VC debut to lead the way while sophomore Sam McKenzie netted 11 points and pulled in a team-best five rebounds. Devin Feiereisen scored seven and grabbed four boards.

Ventura found the early going difficult as they were not finding their stride offensively. McKenzie hit four free throws in the opening quarter and Topete hit a jumper, but The Lasers raced out to an 18-6 lead after 10 minutes of play.

Charnelle Nichols' steal and assist led to a lay-up by Feiereisen early in the second, and Topete connected from long range late. VC's defense held Irvine Valley in check for the most part, and the Pirates trailed 30-14 at intermission.

McKenzie and Alexa Coubal hit early buckets in the second half to get the offense untracked, and back-to-back scores from Feiereisen and McKenzie kept VC within 40-26 at the 3:43 mark of the third. Nichols also connected for three in the stanza as IVC maintained the 46-30 advantage entering the final quarter.

Nichols hit another three in the final period, and Topete scored on an old-fashioned 3-point play, but Ventura could not make any inroads against Irvine Valley, falling 66-41.

The Pirates have a quick turnaround, traveling back to Culver City on Saturday Nov. 9 to take on Taft on the second day of the Wild West Shootout at West LA College.