The Pirates' women's basketball team fought hard, but ultimately dropped their finale of the Buddy's All-Star Classic 52-45 against San Francisco. Sam McKenzie netted 20 in the effort in the game at LA Valley and Charnelle Nichols scored eight. Alexa Coubal recorded seven points and 14 rebounds and Alanna Topete also tallied seven with five assists and three steals.
McKenzie's personal 5-0 run gave the Pirates the early lead. After San Francisco came back with six straight, McKenzie followed with another three with 4:15 remaining in the first quarter. and her jumper at the 2:43 mark gave her 10 points in the period as Ventura led 12-10 after the first 10 minutes of play.
Nichols hit from range to open the second stanza, extending the Ventura advantage to 15-10. Coubal hit from the floor and made a pair of free throws to make it 19-17 with 3:12 on the clock. CCSF tied the game at 19 before intermission.
Topete's steal and lay-up maintained the even score at 21-21 in the third, and Milan Garcia hit a triple at the 7:52 mark for a 24-21 margin for VC. Coubal scored inside and Topete converted an old-fashioned 3-point play for a 29-25 lead with 3:32 remaining in the quarter. unfortunately, the Rams went on a 10-0 run at that point and led 35-29 heading to the final period.
Nichols hit a long-range shot to open the fourth, and McKenzie hit back-to- back three's to pull Ventura to within 42-39 midway through the quarter. That would be as close as the Pirates could get, however, and San Francisco held off VC down the stretch.
The Pirates return home for a pair of games before the Christmas holiday. They will host LA Harbor on Thursday Dec. 19 at 6:00 pm before playing Foothill on Friday Dec. 20, also at 6:00 pm at the Athletic Event Center.