Ventura College’s McKena Richardson shot for 27 points to help the VC women’s basketball team beat Citrus College 67-59, on Feb. 11, securing a playoff spot.
VC’s Veronica Williams helped in the defeat with 12 points, while Citrus College’s Alexis Pope scored 25 points and Nicole Cunningham chipped in with 10 points in a losing effort.
The only time that Citrus College was able to get close to winning the game was with 31.3 seconds left when Citrus College’s Jenny Sirk was able to drill a three-pointer, which brought VC’s lead to only 4 points and the score to 62-58.
“We wanted to put pressure on the guards and their center (Alexis Pope),” said Ventura College Coach Ned Mircetic. “I think that we executed well, and we were able to come out of the game with a win.”
At halftime a special ceremony was held to help unite athletes, teachers and students when five of VC’s sophomore players chose five of their favorite professors to honor. Those honored were Professor Gary Amar, who was chosen by Karla Martinez; Professor Lucy Capuano-Brewer, selected by Medina Britt; English Professor Amy Madsen chosen by Tina Stetson; Professor Mike Vergeer, who was picked by Rebecca Kolbeck; and Professor Joe Selzler, honored by Diana Nunez. The five professors were presented with a VC Pirate sweatshirt, a VC Pirate Mug, a copy of the media program for the 2005-2006 season, and a Marble Apple Award.
After the ceremony, second reference Coach Mircetic tried to get the women to focus on the game again and come out with a much stronger intensity to finish the game.
“I told them at halftime that the ceremony was a great thing, but we need to focus on the second half and finish strong,” said Mircetic.
In the second half, the Pirates came out a little sloppy, but were still able to keep their intensity up on the defensive side. The team was able to come up with their biggest lead of the night, when their lead was 54-35.
In the beginning it took the Pirates 11 minutes to find their comfort zone before they were able to dominate during the rest of the game. After VC was able to tie the game at 16 apiece with a little over nine minutes left, they never looked back, going on 17-2 run in the last nine minutes to bring the halftime score to 33-18.
Before the game, several avid fans had attended the Pirates’ annual barbeque to show their support for the winning team.
