Oh, what a Knight: Senior scores 34 points to lead Ventura past Camarillo in first round
There are assists that are counted official stats.
And there are the unofficial assists that statisticians don't count.
Skyler Knight tied her own school record with eight 3-pointers and equaled her personal best with 34 points as the Ventura High girls basketball team defeated Camarillo, 65-44, Thursday night in a CIF-Southern Section Division 2-AA first-round home game.
Ventura (25-4) reached the second round of the postseason for the 22nd time in coach Ann Larson's 24-year coaching career. The Cougars will be on the road Saturday against Claremont.
Knight, a senior, found openings behind a protective wall.
"I wish screeners could be awarded assists," said Larson. "We have a group of players willing to sacrifice themselves for their teammates to get the open shots."
Knight has found her shot over the last four games, connecting 21 times from behind the arc.
More: Boys basketball playoffs: Twelve area teams advance to second round
Kailee Staniland finished with 17 points and six assists and Jessie Sebek added eight points and nine rebounds for the Cougars.
For Camarillo (20-8), freshman Emerson Martin and Christa Contreras had 16 and 15 points, respectively.
In an exhibition of 3-point shooting by both teams, Knight was the hottest.
Thirty-three of the game's first 45 points were scored via 3-pointers.
Martin hit a pair of 3s and Contreras added one as the Coastal Canyon runner-up Scorpions jumped out to an 11-7 margin.
In the closing moments of the first quarter, Staniland nailed a 10-footer and Knight made her third 3-pointer of the game as Ventura finished with a 15-13 margin.
There would be no letup to Knight's night.
Four more 3-pointers pushed Ventura's lead to 27-18. After Contreras converted a steal, Ventura responded as Staniland drove the lane for a bucket and Knight scored on a steal — her 22nd and 23rd points of the half.
In a 24-11 Ventura run, Knight scored 17 points.
Down by 18 points with 3:24 left in the third quarter, Camarillo rallied behind Martin and Contreras to close within 48-37.
Ventura ended any comeback aspirations by scoring the first 13 points of the fourth quarter.
"We were able to do a lot of the things that we wanted to do," said Larson.
One of the things Ventura likes to do the best is play defense.
And there's nothing fancy about what Ventura does defensively.
"Man-to-man. No zone. No switching," said Staniland.
As Ventura moves to the second round, Camarillo weighs a successful season.
The Scorpions won 12 of their last 15 games with a starting lineup of a freshman, two sophomores and two juniors.
"People were talking all year about how good we could be next year," said Camarillo coach Matt Ramirez. "I thought we were good enough to get far this year."
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Knight scores 34 points to lead Ventura past Camarillo in first round
