Girls basketball: Ventura falls at home; Oak Park, Newbury Park, Santa Paula reach semis
The Ventura High girls basketball team threatened to erase a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit and save its season Wednesday night at Tuttle Gym.
But the Cougars’ potential game-winning run was short circuited in its 60-55 loss to Long Beach-St. Anthony in the CIF-Southern Section Division 2AA quarterfinals.
“I’m absolutely sick about a couple of (bad breaks),” Ventura coach Ann Larson said.
Skyler Knight finished with 22 points and three rebounds, Kailee Staniland had 14 points and seven assists and Jasmine Messina and Jessie Sebek each had six points and 10 rebounds for the Cougars.
“The physicality definitely hurt us,” Larson said. “I felt that they, with their physicality, were able to take us out of some of the things that we’ve been able to do all year long. We handled their switches and their pressure very well.
“I’m proud of how we came back.”
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Ventura trailed 50-41 with 7:01 to play, but ripped off six straight points — including a Knight 3-pointer — to pull within 50-47 with five minutes to play.
The Cougars’ run was halted when St. Anthony capitalized on an officiating mistake. UC Davis signee Ryann Bennett, who had a game-high 30 points, splashed a left wing 3-pointer a moment after a teammate was allowed to recover her own errant inbound pass, thereby inbounding herself the ball.
Referees concluded the inbounds pass was tipped, making it a free ball.
Ventura’s season, which included a share of the Channel League title, ended at 26-5 — a win away from a state regional berth.
“We just kept getting better,” Larson said. “They kept improving individually and as a team.”
Knight, who passed 1,000 points for her career on the night, had a game-high 16 points at the half, when the Cougars climbed out of an early deficit to take a 24-16 lead with 5:20 left in the second quarter.
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St. Anthony answered with a 10-2 run to pull even 28-28 with 41 seconds left in the half.
Oak Park stretches streak to 17
Helena Koubek scored 22 points, Maya Deshautelle had 14 points, Lindsay Goud had 12 points, Delaney White contributed with 10 points, and Ella Broms added six points as Oak Park advanced to the Division 3AA semifinals with a 64-53 victory at Silverado.
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The top-seeded Eagles (18-7) extended their winning streak to 17 games and will play at Torrance High on Saturday with a chance to advance to their second straight CIF-SS championship game. Oak Park, which won its second straight Coastal Canyon League title, captured the Division 5A title last season.
Newbury Park, Santa Paula reach semis
Kimiko Carmer finished with 14 points and three assists, Skylar Komatsu had 12 points and five steals, and Greta Heath scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Newbury Park rallied from six points down with 38 seconds to pull off a stunning comeback to beat host Pacifica-Garden Grove in a Division 4AA quarterfinal game.
Dana Cruz had five points and four rebounds and Kai Mekari added four points and five rebounds for the Panthers (25-6), who will host Canyon-Anaheim in a semifinal game Saturday.
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In the other side of the Division 4AA bracket, Aryanna Lopez scored 15 points and Madilyn Stonebraker had six points, 13 rebounds and three blocks to lead Santa Paula to a 48-38 win over visiting Ramona Convent.
Miahnna Galvan had six points, seven rebounds and six assists, Alyse Ramirez finished with six points, four steals and two assists, and Jalynn Rico contributed five points, six rebounds and three assists for the Citrus Coast League champion Cardinals (22-8).
Santa Paula will travel to Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday for a semifinal game.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura falls at home; Oak Park, Newbury Park, Santa Paula reach semis
