WSC Battle for State Supremacy

Way too much depth.

That, in a nutshell, is the most valuable asset of the Ventura College women’s basketball team and something few opponents can offset.

Solano is the latest to try and fail, falling to the Pirates, 76-49, Friday in a semifinal game of the Junior College State Championships at San Jose State.

“We can go nine or 10 [deep] if need be and we have, and it’s paid off for us in the long run,” said Ned Mircetic, Ventura coach.

The Pirates (35-1), defending state champions, play for the title today against Canyons.

Ventura poured it on in the second half after leading, 31-26, at halftime.

Mircetic used all 13 players on the roster and kept sending fresh bodies into the game as the Falcons (32-6) tried in vain to keep up with basically a seven-player rotation.

Solano, ranked fourth in the state, was outmanned even more when starting guard Jamie Maher left the game with an injured left ankle with 12:59 remaining.

The Pirates built the lead to 43-30 on April Garrish’s basket moments after Maher was hurt.

“That took a lot of offensive power out [of Solano],” Mircetic said. “But in the second half we were very good defensively.”

Solano made 27.3% (nine of 33) of its shots in the second half and 28.8% (19 of 66) for the game.

The Pirates made 14 of 28 (50.0%) in the second half after going 12 of 32 (37.5%) in the first 20 minutes.

Sophomore forward Cindi Jensen scored 17 points for Ventura.

“Man, I’m so excited,” Jensen said. “I stepped up today.”

The Pirates took advantage of Solano’s foul trouble in the second half, converting 14 of 20 free throws. They made 20 of 26 (76.9%) in the game.

“They [put] us in the bonus real quick, so we were looking to drive a lot,” said Jensen, one of six players from last season’s championship team on the Ventura roster.

Freshman forward Maria Perez-Barris scored 12 of Solano’s 23 second-half points. She finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

The Pirates opened the game with a 9-0 run and led, 25-11, with 10:35 to play in the first half before the Falcons rallied.

Ventura hit a dry spell, going scoreless for 5:48 as the Falcons pulled to within 25-20 with 5:12 to go in the half. Jensen got the Pirates going again with two free throws to make it 27-20.

Center Adria Sneed had 13 points for Ventura, Lynda Amari added 12 and Garrish scored 11.

It was the second consecutive defeat for Solano in the semifinals. The Falcons lost to Saddleback, 54-53, last year. It was Solano’s second loss to Ventura this season, the first coming at the Sequoias tournament in December, 84-77.

Mircetic, who has guided the Pirates to 28 consecutive victories, said he didn’t care who Ventura plays in today’s title match.

“The next-best thing to winning the state championship is playing for it, and we are there,” Mircetic said. “We are next to the last stage.”