Playoff hopes were dashed for the Vaqueros when they stumbled hard and lost to Ventura (ranked #10) 90-67 Saturday night in the Sports Pavilion.
Ventura came out of the locker room strong and accrued an imposing 25-13 lead by the first buzzer.
While the scoreboard suggested that Ventura dominated the game in all areas, City College managed to win the turnover battle and also dished out more assists.
What plagued the Vaqueros was the three-point shot. The Ventura Pirates went 12 for 24 on three-point attempts compared to the Vaqueros two for 12. The Pirates amassed a 30-point edge from three-pointers alone.
The Vaqueros cut the deficit a few times for what may have seemed a workable comeback, but Ventura quickly made up the points.
In the second quarter, the Vaqueros fell behind 35-27 but brought their trail up to 46-33 at the half.
With five minutes left, City College trailed by 73-63. Then two back-to-back Ventura three-pointers sparked a 17-4 run for the Pirates to close out the game.
Ventura finished the regular season 25-5 and 10-0 in the conference while winning the Western State Conference North for the 27th consecutive year.
The Vaqueros fell to 15-12 on the regular season and 4-6 in the WSC North.
Destinee King finished her final game for the Vaqueros in one of the strongest games of her career. King recorded 30 points, 15 rebounds, and five blocks in the loss.
Jocelin Petatan recorded 13 points, six assists, and six rebounds in what was also her final game as a Vaquero.
King, Petatan, Alyssa Cosio, Stella Dulay, and Diamond Alexander will not return to the floor again for the Vaqueros as they are all in their sophomore years.
King played her best basketball of the season against the WSC North, leading the way in points, rebounds, steals, and blocks. She averaged 21.8 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2.1 blocks in her 10 games against the WSC North.
Overall, King finished fourth in points per game (19), fourth in rebounds per game (11.1), and third in blocks per game (1.7) in the WSC, which consists of 17 teams. She recorded 16 double-doubles in 26 games played this season and 32 in her 52 career games. King also finished 18th in the state in scoring and 14th in the state in rebounds.
The team will have to carry on next year without a key sophomore group that consisted of four of the team’s five starters and one reserve. Only four players will remain from this season’s team barring a transfer.
