GIRLS’ DIVISION I-A : Buena Goes to the Boards to Eliminate Ocean View

Any supposition that the Ocean View girls’ basketball team would be able to contain Ventura Buena’s big front line in the Southern Section Division I-A semifinal game Wednesday night at Marina High were put to rest in a hurry.

The third-seeded Bulldogs (26-2) scored their first 11 points on offensive rebounds and pretty much controlled the boards all night to cruise to a 61-42 victory over Ocean View (22-7). The victory moves VBuena into the final Saturday night against top-seeded Thousand Oaks (27-1) at UC Irvine’s Bren Center. Thousand Oaks defeated Buena, 67-57, in last year’s final.

“It’s just real critical to be effective (with the offensive rebounds) if we want to beat Thousand Oaks,” Buena Coach Joe Vaughan said.

The Bulldogs used their size advantage to get easy baskets all night, and 6-foot forward Michelle Giordano was particularly effective. The sophomore scored a game-high 27 points, including 14 on offensive rebounds or layups after posting up low on the smaller Ocean View defenders.

Those close-range shots helped Buena shoot 43.6% from the field (24 of 55), while the Seahawks, who were forced to shoot from the outside, couldn’t find their touch. They made only 14 of 49 shots (28.5%).

“We shot 45% on the year from the field,” Ocean View Coach Ollie Martin said. “If we could have done a better job of shooting, we could have been right there.”

As it was, Ocean View was never in the game. Buena jumped to a 13-6 lead after one quarter and held a 27-18 advantage at the half. Giordano, who also had a team-high 12 rebounds, scored 15 of her points in the first half.

Buena went to the inside game again in the third quarter, scoring all of its points from close range. Center April Buck, who is 6-2, made the only outside basket for the Bulldogs on a 15-foot jumper with 1 minute 28 seconds left in the quarter to put Buena ahead, 45-28.

Julie Hardy, a 6-2 junior forward, scored 10 points for Buena. Center Nikki Vivion, who at 5-11 is the tallest Ocean View starter, scored 12 points and had a game-high 13 rebounds.