Ventura College Women’s Basketball (21-6, 10-0) came out on top with a 68-52 victory against a very physical Santa Barbara City College (17-10, 4-5).
This was a special game for both the players and the community since the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and the team put together activities to help support breast cancer awareness.
The game started off a bit slow offensively with both teams showing impeccable defense. VC’s starting center Destinee LaFountain had some early blocks to lead the way and helped spark a lead in the early going.
The teams started to trade baskets throughout the first half with some highlight plays from point guard Rebecca Griffin and shooting guard Carlotta Kloppenburg taking center stage with the scoring.
The game was neck and neck with VC leading 26-22 going into halftime.
Things started to get interesting around the middle of the second half when Stephanie Ramirez was hit while shooting a three pointer. This was just a small spark to bring life back in the gym, but then Kloppenburg hit three consecutive threes in a row to liven up the crowd.
“Kloppenburg was the spark in the second half,” said Assistant Coach Robin Hester. “Everyone knows she can hit the shot, she had the hot hand tonight.”
Ventura took a late lead going into the final ten minutes with Santa Barbara trying to slim the lead but never got close. Ventura couldn’t miss late in the game with Kloppenburg and LaFountain hitting some clutch baskets.
Both teams started to get a little scruffy towards the end when emotions started to get in the way of game.
This was Kloppenburg’s night to shine with her leading the Pirates with 18 points on 6-7 shooting from 3-point range. LaFountain led the defensive game with four blocked shots and Griffin leading the passing attack with nine assists and 17 points to go along with her great passing. Ramirez also had a good game getting 13 points of some fantastic shooting.
The Pirates won this game by overcoming this very physical team by matching their toughness and also raising their mental awareness on the court.
There was never a sign of giving up when someone was not hitting her shot or whether the ref had the wrong call.
“Even though they played physical, we overcame it both physically and mentally,” said back up forward Janessa Martinez.
