No. 10 Ventura too much for Vaqueros

SBCC shot a season-low 14.3 percent on Wednesday and No. 10 Ventura hit 45.5 percent in a 71-27 WSC North victory.

The Pirates, ranked sixth in Southern Cal, expanded a 28-16 halftime lead by going on a 20-1 run to open the second half. Carolyn Ruffino hit back-to-back buckets, extending the margin to 48-17 with 12:36 to play. Ruffino topped the Pirates (17-5, 4-0) with 18 points.

Stella Dulay led the Vaqueros (5-14, 0-4) with eight points and Victoria Jackson had six points and seven rebounds. They only combined to make 4-of-23 shots on a night when the Vaqueros hit 7-49.

Andrea Morales was held to four points, ending her eight-game streak of scoring 11 or more points.

"We stayed with our game play in the first 12 minutes (when they trailed 14-7), which was to go deep in the shot clock," said coach Sandrine Krul. "Then we went away from that for whatever reason. The bottom line is you have to hit shots when you're open. Tomorrow will be an all-shooting day."

The Vaqueros were outrebounded 52-30. Ventura won its 10th straight game and moved into a first-place tie with Moorpark. The Pirates have the No. 3 scoring defense in the state, allowing just 49.1 points per game.

The Vaqueros travel to Santa Maria to battle Hancock on Saturday at 5 p.m.