SBCC built a 14-point lead on No. 13 Ventura on Wednesday night, thanks to four straight 3-pointers in the third quarter, then the Pirates outscored the Vaqueros 37-14 in the last 18 minutes to pull out a 77-68 women's basketball victory in the Sports Pavilion.
Ventura's bench outscored Santa Barbara 56-13, led by Victoria Maciel (16 points), Kimora Pooler (13 points, 7 rebounds) and Alyssandra Lacanilao (13 points, 6 rebounds).
Alondra Jimenez paced the Vaqueros (13-7, 1-4 WSC North) with 26 points. She hit 10-17 from the field and 4-8 from downtown. Jordan Parkhurst added 13 points and six assists while Sophia Torres had five points and nine rebounds.
The Pirates (18-6, 4-2) outscored the Vaqueros 21-6 in the fourth period and outshot them 42.9% (6-14) to 9.1% (1-11). Ventura won the rebound battle 46-30, including 17 on the offensive end.
Another big factor was free throws as the visitors made 23-31 compared to 6-8 for the Vaqueros.
SBCC only had one turnover in the first half when it took a 42-38 lead. The Vaqueros opened the third quarter on a 12-2 burst, fueled by three 3-pointers by Jimenez and one by Jada Forsdick-Stevenson. Jimenez' trey with 7:39 to go in the third boosted the Vaquero lead to 54-40.
Ventura responded with a 15-2 burst and tied it at 56 on two free throws by Alaina Garcia with 1:28 left in the third.
"What a great game to coach," said 16th-year SBCC coach Sandrine Krul. "It was a game of runs and Ventura had the last run.
"Our team battled for 40 minutes and left it all on the court. We just came up short. As I've said all year, this team plays hard and they will continue to play hard."
SBCC will play Game 3 of a four-game homestand on Saturday when Oxnard visits the Sports Pavilion at 5 p.m.
