Moorpark women’s basketball took down the Ventura College Pirates on their home court on Saturday night, ending their 27-year winning streak.

Freshman guard Emily Herring had a team high 18-points to help carry the Raiders to victory. The team’s win put them into a second place standing under Ventura College (7-1) in the Western State-North conference with a 6-2 record.

“I’m ecstatic,” said Herring after the win. “We were definitely on edge.”

Moorpark opened the game strong with a 5-0 lead in the first minute of the game. However, free throws by Ventura sophomore, guard Jasmyne Martin, were able to bring the game to a 12 -12 tie with 2:09 left in the first quarter. Martin also gave Ventura their first lead of the game after a jump shot which took the score to 12-14. The pirates kept their lead at the end of the first quarter with a score of 14-15.

Ventura powered through the first minute of the second quarter putting them at a six point 14-20 lead over Moorpark. Although Moorpark was able to battle back to close the gap to a one point trail, the Pirates were able to hold their lead throughout the second quarter and head into halftime with a 30-31 on the scoreboard.

Both teams fought hard coming out of the locker room, bringing the crowd a nail biting second half. The Raiders and Pirates battled back and forth never allowing the other more than a three point lead throughout the entire third quarter. The third quarter ended with Ventura at a two point lead over Moorpark at 45-47.

Moorpark saw a slow start to the fourth quarter, but they were not done yet. After falling six points behind Ventura with 8:27 left in the game, a jump shot by Moorpark sophomore forward/guard Kelsea Illengo sped up the Raiders momentum to put them four points behind Ventura. This led to a four point run by Herring to get the Raiders back in the game and a made layup by freshman center Barbara Rangel to give them the 53-52 lead with just over two minutes left on the clock.

With the score at 56-52 (Moorpark) after a free throw by Herring, Ventura tried to fight their way back with a three point jump shot by freshman guard Nikki Puga. Despite their efforts, the Raiders were unable to finish the job resulting in a 56-55 victory by the visiting team.

Beating Ventura on their home court has been a goal of Moorpark’s since they fell to them 47-38 earlier in the season. Coach Kenny Plummer couldn’t be more excited for his team.

Ryan Ketcham contributed to this story.