No. 5 Ventura takes down shorthanded Vaqueros, 88-54

Ventura built a 36-24 halftime lead on Wednesday, then dominated the second half in an 88-54 victory over visiting SBCC.

Ventura, ranked No. 5 in Southern California, had already clinched its 26th straight conference title prior to the game. The Pirates are 25-4 and 11-0 in the WSC North.

Destinee King had 20 points and four rebounds for the Vaqueros (14-13, 5-6), who were missing a few players due to illness. She was forced to play the shooting forward position and hit 3-of-7 from 3-point country after entering the game 0-2 for the season.

Jeanie Pattison added 10 points and nine rebounds for SBCC while Jocelin Petatan had nine points, a season-high 14 rebounds, six assists and two blocks.

"We played hard, considering we have three players out because of sickness," said coach Sandrine Krul. "We had to move Destinee to the 3 and she hit three 3-pointers and played with such composure.

"Even though we didn't get the W, the players that were called upon played extremely hard. We'll have two practices with energy and excitement getting ready for L.A. Pierce."

Ventura led 36-24 at the half and stretched the lead to 20 points (58-38) entering the fourth quarter. The Pirates outshot the Vaqueros 44 to 31 percent and won the rebound battle, 56-40.

Nalei'a Brackett added nine points, four steals and three assists for the Vaqueros.

Santa Barbara will complete its season on Saturday with a 5 p.m. home game vs. L.A. Pierce.