We'll have live updates tonight on Twitter of the No. 1 Ventura College women's basketball team's VC-Optimist "We Play Hard" final against No. 7 San Bernardino Valley.

We'll also have updates of the Oxnard College men's basketball team's game against No. 3 Citrus in Glendale.

Ryan McLucas had five of his team-high 26 points in the final 73 seconds of overtime to lift the Oxnard College men's basketball team, 86-82, over San Diego City Tuesday night at Citrus College in Glendora.

Oxnard trailed 82-79 with 1:13 to play when the sophomore from Rio Mesa High buried a pair of jumpers, including a 3-pointer. McLucas also had eight rebounds and eight assists.

James Ennis had 24 points and eight rebounds. Criag Lee added 16 points. Oxnard will face No. 3 Citrus Wednesday at 7 p.m..

Dunell Webb Jr. had 32 points and Travis Wilson added 19 points for San Diego City (3-10).

Erika Ward had 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 4 for 6 from 3-point land, Chanelle Brennan had 19 points and Kris King had 18 points and eight rebounds as top-ranked Ventura College women's basketball team outlasted Glendale, 76-59, in the semifinals of the VC-Optimist Holiday tournament Tuesday night at the VC Athletic Event Center.

The No. 1 Pirates host No. 7 San Bernardino Valley, which beat L.A. Pierce 61-44, in Wednesday night's final at 6.

We'll have live updates tonight on Twitter of the No. 1 Ventura College women's basketball team's VC-Optimist "We Play Hard" semifinal against Glendale College, coached by former Ventura star Monica Hang.

We should also have updates of the Oxnard College men's basketball team's game against San Diego City at the Citrus tournament in Glendale.

Behind 24 points and eight rebounds from Chanelle Brennan, the top-ranked Ventura College women's basketball team cruised to a 72-39 win over Southwestern in the quarterfinals of the VC-Optimist Club "We Play Hard" tournament Monday night at the VC Athletic Event Center.

After a spotty first half, the Pirates (15-1) made 17 of 29 field goals in the second half.

Erika Ward had 17 points, four assists and three steals. Kris King had 16 points and eight assists. Brenda Van Someren and Lacie Escamilla added seven rebounds apiece.

Van Someren made her second straight start at point guard in place of sophomore star Amanda Padilla, who injured a hand in a pregame accident last week.

In other tournament action, San Bernardino Valley beat Los Angeles Valley 53-44, Los Angeles Piece beat Orange Coast 68-53 and Glendale beat Compton 73-60.

Ventura faces Glendale, coached by former VC star Monica Hang, Tuesday at 7 p.m. SBVC faces Pierce in the other semi at 5 p.m.

With her trademarked smooth efficiency, Chanelle Brennan turned a tie game into another win for the top-ranked Ventura College women's basketball team Friday night.

The sophomore forward from Ventura High scored a career-high 36 points by making a combined 24 of 31 shots from the field and foul line as the No. 1 Pirates turned back No. 17 Cypress, 83-74, in the "We Play Hard" Crossover Classic at the VC Athletic Event Center.

No player in the state has scored more points in a game this season.

"She's really a nice player," said Cypress coach Margaret Mohr. "Such a joy to watch."

Brennan, who was 11 of 17 from the field and 13 of14 from the line, responded to Cypress tying the score at 32-32 early in the second half by making six straight shots to net 13 points of a 15-1 Ventura run over three minutes.

"She's such a high-energy player," said Mohr. "She just hurts you in so many ways."

Brennan's 13 free throws was the third most by a Ventura player in coach Ned Mircetic's 20-year tenure. She broke her previous single-game scoring mark of 32 points set Nov. 28 against Santa Monica.

Amanda Padilla had 15 points and seven assists, Kris King had 13 points and five rebounds, Erica Ward had 12 points, five rebounds and five assists and Gabrielle Conn added six points and 10 rebounds as Ventura (13-1) avoided its first losing streak since Nov. 26, 2006.

The Pirates, who host Mira Costa tonight at 6, saw their school-record 55-game regular season winning streak snapped Saturday at Pasadena. Mira Costa fell 84-51 to undefeated and No. 9-ranked Los Angeles Trade-Tech (12-1) Friday.

Cypress (7-5) was led by 24 points from Quortlyn O'Neal and 16 points by Micaela Pickens.

It's been an interesting couple of weeks for Ventura College defensive back
Travaun Nixon, who has completed his Associate's degree and therefore is eligible to transfer over the holiday break.

Nixon reportedly gave Hawaii a verbal commitment last month.

Ventura coach Jon Mack said Nixon took a recruiting visit to USC earlier this month and, while the Trojans didn't immediately offer a scholarship, asked Nixon to hold off on making a commitment until after Christmas.

It seems the Hueneme High product, who led the state with six interceptions before his season ended with a foot injury in the win over Canyons, did not wait.

Nixon signed a letter of intent to attend Texas-El Paso Wednesday, according to Mack. Although Nixon was unreachable Wednesday,UTEP confirmed the committment on its website.

UTEP has had several local products recently under coach Mike Price, including former Ventura High and UCLA running back Tyler Ebell and former Moorpark College safety Wiston Juene.

Is it the biggest win in Oxnard College men's basketball history? Probably not, since it didn't lead to a banner, but it's certainly in the conversation.

Freshman forward James Ennis had 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and freshman forward Scooter Holmes had 21 points and eight rebounds as host Oxnard shocked No. 1-ranked and defending state champion Riverside, 89-79, Thursday night at the Condor Center.

Sophomore guard Ryan McLucas added 19 points, including 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point land, as Oxnard (6-6) improved to .500 with a decisive victory over the defending state champion.

Riverside eliminated Ventura, 83-66, in last February's regional semifinals and beat Moorpark, 84-57, in the final of the Rancho Vista Shootout on Dec. 6.

Jordan Richard had 16 points and Orion Palmer and James Calhoun added 15 points each for Riverside (10-3), which was playing without star point guard Daniel Redmon, who sprained his ankle as Riverside won its illustrious 16-team tournament last weekend.

Click here for the full story which appeared in today's paper.

Click here for the link to our community college women's basketball overview, which appeared in today's print editions.

Looks like they didn't make it online, so here's the capsules that ran in today's paper along with my local community college women's basketball overview.

Moorpark at a glance
Nickname: Raiders.
Coach: Lindsay Goldblatt (24-35, Third year at school)
Assistant coach: Lori Chandler.
2008-09 record and division finish: 15-14, 7-5, fourth.
2008-09 playoffs: Did not qualify.
STARTING LINEUP
Pos. Starter Year Ht. Hometown/High School
PG Grace Arocha So. 5-5 San Fernando/San Fernando
SG Deepika Kapil Fr. 5-8 Northridge/Reseda
SF Molly Carson So. 5-9 Moorpark/Moorpark
PF Bev Lamphiear So. 5-9 Simi Valley/Royal
C Irene Lopez Fr. 6-1 San Fernando/San Fernando
BENCH
G Nanice Kollee Fr. 5-9 Thousand Oaks/Thousand Oaks
G Savannah Brooks Fr. 5-2 Fillmore/Fillmore
G Monica Schmidt Fr. 5-8 Simi Valley/Royal
G Lyzette Murrieta Fr. 5-4 Oxnard/Oxnard
F Bita Harandi Fr. 5-11 Woodland Hills/El Camino Real
C Reyneisha Mays So. 6-3 Granada Hills/Granada Hills
RECORD BOOK
2009 15-14 2004 19-10
2008 9-21 2003 28-10
2007 10-19 2002 24-12
2006 16-16 2001 8-18
2005 17-13 2000 9-19

Oxnard at a glance
Nickname: Condors.
Coach: Phil Sherman (30-48, Fourth year at school)
Assistant coaches: Clarence Banks
2008-09 record and division finish: 8-20, 3-9, tied for fifth.
2008-09 playoffs: Did not qualify.
STARTING LINEUP
Pos. Starter Year Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
PG Shaniqua Perkins So. 5-5 Oxnard/Hueneme
SG Nicole Tauaau Fr. 5-7 Oxnard/Pacifica
SF Amanda Izaguierre So. 5-8 Oxnard/Oxnard
PF Charnisha Bradley So. 5-11 Los Angeles/Washington
C Arlene Cortez So. 5-10 Oxnard/Channel Islands
BENCH
G Aja Tamai Fr. 5-3 Oxnard/Santa Clara
G Stephanie Hernandez So. 5-4 Oxnard/Oxnard
G Alicia Nichols Fr. 5-4 Oxnard/Oxnard
G Danika Edwards So. 5-7 Oxnard/Santa Clara
F Rose Nichols Fr. 5-9 Oxnard/Pacifica
C Kyra Wendling Fr. 5-10 Simi Valley/Royal
C Evee Auvee Fr. 5-10 Oxnard/Pacifica
RECORD BOOK2009 8-20 2004 12-12
2008 11-14 2003 13-17
2007 11-14 2002 13-14
2006 0-25 2001 7-18
2005 4-21 2000 9-16

Ventura at a glance
Nickname: Pirates.
Coach: Ned Mircetic (564-85, 20th year at school)
Assistant coaches: Robin Hester, David Breslin, Maria Christine.
2008-09 record and division finish: 34-1, 12-0, first.
2008-09 playoffs: Seeded No. 2 in the South. Def. No. 18 Citrus,
74-56, in the regional semifinals. Def. No. 7 Canyons, 77-51, in the
regional finals. Def. No. 3N Foothill, 60-59, in the state
quarterfinals. Lost to No. 4S Pasadena, 106-93, in the state
semifinals.
STARTING LINEUP
Pos. Starter Year Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
PG Amanda Padilla So. 5-5 Ventura/Buena
SG Erika Ward So. 5-8 Simi Valley/Royal
SF Chanelle Brennan So. 5-11 Ventura/Ventura
PF Gabrielle Conn Fr. 5-10 Valencia/Saugus
C Kris King So. 5-11 Simi Valley/Royal
BENCH
G Jausecca Cockerel Fr. 5-4 Bakersfield/Stockdale
G Brenda van Someren So. 5-3 Oxnard/Pacifica
G Samantha Strang Fr. 5-11 Ventura/Buena
F Suzie Faanono Fr. 5-8 Oxnard/Pacifica
F Ariel Hale Fr. 5-11 Acton/Canyon
F Lacey Escamilla So. 5-9 Ventura/Ventura
F Jordan Clegg Fr. 6-1 Ventura/Ventura
C Jessica Kidder Fr. 6-5 Moorpark/Moorpark
RECORD BOOK
2009 34-1* 2004 27-4*
2008 29-6* 2003 33-3*
2007 26-8* 2002 34-2*$
2006 23-10* 2001 33-4*$
2005 21-7* 2000 38-0*$
* WSC North champion $ State champion # State runner-up

The silver lining to the strong fall season is the topic of conversation at Raider Pavilion.

The Moorpark College men's soccer, women's soccer and women's volleyball teams not only all tasted success in the Southern California regional playoffs, they all lost to the eventual state champions.

"Could have had three state championships," said Moorpark athletic director Howard Davis, jokingly. "What kind of fall would that have been?"

All three coaches enjoyed the success of their eliminators.

"I'd rather lose to the state champion than a team who loses the next match," said women's soccer coach Eric Privat.

"You don't feel as bad as you would if you were beaten by a team that lost the next match," said men's soccer coach Sean Roche.

Both soccer teams actually pushed the eventual state and National Soccer Coaches Association of America national champions all the way in 1-0 losses.

"And to think they went all the way and they only narrowly beat us," said Roche.

The Moorpark men fell in a regional semifinal at top seed Mount San Antonio, while the Moorpark women fell in a regional final at top seed Santiago Canyon.

"I felt that our players, for one of the first times, really pushed themselves to the limit and beyond," said Privat. "That's how you keep on building a program."

Instead of a moral victory away to a top seed, the women's volleyball team was the higher seed in the tight five-game regional final at Raider Pavilion.

"It certainly shows how close we were this year," said Moorpark coach Steve Burkhart.

The No. 4 Raiders actually scored more points that night, but No. 5 Orange Coast went on to win a series of close matches to claim its third state championship of the decade.

"After I looked at our team and how close we were to beating Orange Coast," said Burkhart, "I thought, 'Oh gosh,' after they went all the way. But they won a lot of really close games through the state tournament, so maybe they were a bit mentally tougher than everybody else."

The soccer season doesn't end at Oxnard College, which will welcome a U.S. Soccer national coaching clinic Jan. 3-10.

As many as 130 coaches from around the country will converge on Oxnard to earn their "A" or "B" licenses. Under a lease agreement between the federation and the school, the event will also return in each of the next two years, according to school officials.

The Denmark Under-20 national team will also arrive for a training camp next month. The school is also in the process of finalizing an agreement with a top-tier Mexican club for a training camp next month.

We'll have live updates from No. 1 Riverside's trip to the Condor Center tonight on the Twitter feed.

Here's the highlight film of Ventura College star defensive back Travaun Nixon, who has been offered scholarships by Texas-El Paso and Hawaii and recently took a recruiting trip to USC:

Mike Melonas had 15 points, including 7-of-8 shooting from the line, and seven points and Pierce Brooks and Jordan Harris added 13 points and 12 points, respectively, but the Ventura College men's basketball team fell 64-61 at Long Beach City Tuesday night.

Ventura (2-8) had possession, trailing 62-61 with 25 seconds to play, but Long Beach drew an offensive foul.

Stephen Gwin had 20 points and nine rebounds for Long Beach City (4-6).

Our Moorpark College men's basketball overview ran today. Below is the breakout box that ran with the feature in today's print editions:

Moorpark men at a glance
Nickname: Raiders.
Coach: Remy McCarthy (184-112, 13th year at school).
Assistant coaches: Ryan Dodd, Steve Parrott
2008-09 record and division finish: 17-12, 7-5, third.
2008-09 playoffs: Seeded No. 20, lost at No. 13 Antelope Valley, 67-47, in the regional quarterfinals.
STARTING LINEUP
Pos. Starter Year Ht. Hometown/High school
PG Matt Mazarei So. 5-9 Thousand Oaks/Westlake
SG Dallas Rutherford So. 6-2 Northridge/Campbell Hall
SG Mike Meza So. 6-4 Simi Valley/Simi Valley
G Spencer Schulte So. 6-4 Santa Barbara/Dos Pueblos
PF Wendell Antoine So 6-2 Moreno Valley/Canyon Springs
BENCH
G Brian Sanchez Fr., 5-9 Alerta/San Fernando
G Kyle Olandt Fr. 5-10 Thousand Oaks/Westlake
G Billy Corcoran Fr. 6-3 Northridge/Hillcrest Christian
G Jerald Dickson Fr. 5-10 Pacoima/Sylmar
G Travis Robbins Fr. 5-11 Oxnard/Santa Clara
F Eric Strangis So. 6-4 La Crescenta/Crescenta Valley
F Ryan Islas Fr. 6-3 Oxnard/Oxnard
RECORD BOOK
2009 17-12 2004 11-14
2008 15-13 2003 16-15
2007 16-12 2002 12-15
2006 26-7* 2001 26-6*#
2005 16-14 2000 28-7*#
* WSC North champion # State Final Four

The Oxnard College men's basketball team beat Los Angeles Valley, 82-72, in the quarterfinals of the Santa Barbara City tourney late Thursday night.

James Ennis had 25 points and 6 rebounds. Scooter Holmes had 23 points and 9 rebounds.
Ryan McLucas had 15 points and seven assists.

Attempting to defend its tournament title, Oxnard plays Victor Valley in tonight's semifinal at 9.

The Oxnard College women's basketball team improved to 7-3 by edging Saddleback, 63-61, at the Hancock tournament in Santa Maria.

Oxnard reached the finals of the Hartnell tournament in Salinas last weekend with wins over Cerros Coso and Hartnell, before dropping the final to Merced 53-43.

The Ventura County Fusion men's soccer team, the reigning USL Premier Development League champion, is holding a two-day tryout this weekend in Ventura.

Saturday's session is at Ventura College. Sunday's session is at St. Bonaventure High. Registration is at 9 a.m. Cost is $50.

Call 805-256-0925 for more information.

In front of Fox Soccer Channel's cameras, the Fusion defeated the Chicago Fire 2-1 in the USL PDL Final on August 8 at Buena High.

Three Moorpark College men's basketball players have been suspended for the weekend's two games at Los Angeles Southwest College.

Western State Conference commissioner Jerry White made the ruling after it was discovered that Kyle Olandt, Mike Meza and Spencer Schulte participated in a recreational league in a local athletic club during the season, in violation of Bylaw 1.15.8.

Moorpark College athletic director Howard Davis recognized coach Remy McCarthy for reporting the violation:

"Coach McCarthy is to be commended for his prompt reporting of these findings. Many coaches would have ignored these findings and hoped it never be discovered. Even more impressive is that the penalty prior to last year was forfeiture of contests. So, Coach McCarthy reported these findings thinking the penalty would be even worse.

I am proud that Moorpark College has coaches that respect and uphold our long tradition of CCCAA compliance and the educational mission of community college athletics."

Meza, who leads Moorpark by scoring 19 points per game, was completely blindsided by the rule:

"I had absolutely no idea, I've been playing in that league for years."

The Ventura College women's basketball team received 14 of 15 first-place votes in this week's California state coaches poll to hold the top spot for the third straight week entering the Rose City Classic this weekend in Pasadena.

The Pirates, ranked No. 3 in the state preseason poll, rose to No. 1 after its upset of previous No. 4 Fullerton in the Glendale tournament Nov. 22., won a No. 1-versus-No. 2 showdown with Mount San Antonio in the final of the VC-Kiwanis Tournament of Champions Nov. 29 and blitzed Cerritos, which had beaten No. 2 Mount SAC and No. 8 Antelope Valley in the previous two days,in the final of the 16-team Gilcrest Invitational in Visalia.

After beating No. 7 San Bernardino Valley Thursday, the Pirates, by this week's poll have now beaten No. 4 (Mount SAC), No. 5 (Fullerton), No. 7 (SBVC), No. 11 (Cerritos), No. 13 (San Joaquin Delta) and No. 14 (Riverside),

And another No. 1-versus-No. 2 showdown may be in the offing against No. 2 Pasadena City, which ended Ventura's 34-game winning streak in last year's state semifinals, Saturday night.

Meanwhile, unbeaten Mount San Jacinto (7-0), which has the other first-place vote, may just be the best team in Southern California.

No. 1 Ventura College women's basketball improved to 11-0 with a 57-48 win over No. 7 San Bernardino Valley Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Rose City Classic at Pasadena City College.

Chanelle Brennan had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Amanda Padilla had 12 points and eight assists. Kris King had 14 points. Erika Ward, Jordan Clegg and Suzie Faanono added seven, six and five rebounds, respectively.

Ventura, which led 29-26 at the half, will play West Los Angeles in Friday's semifinals. San Bernardino falls to 5-2.

If Ventura faced No. 2 Pasadena City in Saturday's final, it would be a rematch of last year's state semifinal that ended the Pirates' 34-game winning streak and the second No. 1-versus-No. 2 showdown in two weeks.

Coming off a come-from-behind win over one of the top programs in Southern California, the Moorpark College women's basketball team welcomes a few more traditional powers to Raider Pavilion tonight for its annual eight-team tournament.

Friday's quarterfinals are Citrus-Santa Barbara at 2 p.m., No. 8 Antelope Valley-Imperial Valley at 4 p.m., Santa Ana-Los Angeles Valley at 6 p.m. and Laney at Moorpark at 8 p.m.

"We have a really good turnout this year for our tournament," said Moorpark coach Lindsay Goldblatt We're excited to host and see some pretty good games."

The Raiders (4-4) shocked Canyons, 60-59, Friday on freshman Nanice Kollee buzzer-beating transition bucket.

"It's one of our better wins," said Goldblatt. "It was nice to come out on top like that."

Kollee, a 5-foot-8 Thousand Oaks High product, nearly doubled her career-scoring figure with a 20-point game, her first double-digit game of the season.

Moorpark is in need of an injection of scoring in the first half, when it has been limited to nine, 13 and 16 points in three of the past four games.

"We've been scoring three times as many points in the second half (as the first half)," said Goldblatt. "If we could put together a full game, we could be pretty good."

Moorpark trailed Canyons 29-16 at the half before responded after the intermission.

Belated congratulations to former Ventura College assistant coaches Jeff Perrault and Jon Wyers, who picked up their first wins as varsity high school head coaches last week.

Wyers guided Villanova Prep to a 76-45 win over Laguna Blanca of Santa Barbara Dec. 2.

The next two nights, Perrault, who is also the assistant coach at Oxnard College this season, guided Newbury Park High to wins over Camarillo (56-47) and Rio Mesa (68-59).

The Newbury Park-Rio Mesa matchup actually pitted Perrault against Rio Mesa High coach Chris Ruffinelli, who also coached under Greg Winslow at VC.

Of course, Wyers took over for Perrault before the 2007-08 season.

The Moorpark College men's basketball team had its four-game winning streak snapped by defending state champion Riverside, 84-57, in the final of the Rancho Vista Shootout Sunday night in Lancaster.

All-tournament selections Dallas Rutherford and Mike Meza had 23 and eight points, respectively.

Moorpark (4-4) was within 34-29 in the final minute of the first half, but were outscored 50-28 the rest of the way.

"It's a lot of minutes for our guys in three days," said Moorpark coach Remy McCarthy, who sat out the game after being ejected Saturday night. "But it was a valiant effort."

The Moorpark College men's basketball team trails defending state champion Riverside 37-29 at the half in the final of the Rancho Vista Shootout at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster.

Dallas Rutherford has 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting. Mike Meza and Matt Mazarei have seven points apiece.

Riverside, which used a 18-7 run to take a 22-13 lead midway through the half, is led by 12 points and six rebounds by Donovan Buford.

Moorpark missed a 3 to pull within two points just before halftime.

The Ventura College women's basketball team repeated as Gilcrest Invitational champion with a 78-64 win over Cerritos Sunday night in Visalia.

Sophomore Chanelle Brennan had 25 points, five rebounds and four assists to earn Most Valuable Player honors as the Pirates win the annual grueling, four-day 16-team tournament for the seventh time in 15 years.

"It was a very long weekend, but we pulled through," said Brennan. "It's amazing. This weekend requires you to work really hard... It feels really good to win a big, long tournament."

Ventura has played in the Gilcrest final in 13 of the past 15 seasons.

Amanda Padilla had 14 points and eight assists as the Pirates improved to 10-0. Sophomore Kris King and Erika Ward added 14 points apiece. Ward also had seven assists.

King and Padilla joined Brennan on the all-tournament team.

After stiff tests against Riverside and San Jose City the previous two nights, Ventura scored 31 of the first 43 points in racing out to a 48-28 halftime lead behind Brennan's 17 first-half points.

"Today, we all played well as a team and we all, individually, did what we're supposed to do," said Brennan.

The game featured a matchup of the two winningest coaches in California Community College women's basketball history. With the win, Ventura coach Ned Mircetic (574-85, 20 years) moved within five wins of Cerritos' Karen Welliver (579-292, 27 years).

Ventura, which previously won the Glendale and VC-Kiwanis tournaments this year, has won 44 of its past 45 games dating back to last season.

It opens the Rose City Classic, hosted by Pasadena City, which beat the unbeaten Pirates in last March's Final Four, next weekend against San Bernardino Valley.

The Ventura College women's basketball team will play its 13th Gilcrest Invitational final in 15 years today.

The Pirates are 6-6 in the final of the top regular season tournament in the state.

Ventura defeated host Sequoias in 1995, Sacramento City in 1997 and 1999, San Jose City in 2000 and Mount San Antonio in 2001 and 2008 and fell to San Jose City in 1996 and 1998, Los Angeles Valley in 2002, Mount San Antonio in 2003 and 2007 and Riverside in 2004.

Ventura is also 7-0 against its opponent Sunday against Cerritos under coach Ned Mircetic.

UPDATE: Ventura College women's basketball team leads Cerritos 48-28 at the half, shooting 21 of 39.

Chanelle Brennan has 17 points and three rebounds. Kris King and Amanda Padilla have 10 points each. Padilla and Erika Ward have five assists each. Ventura also outrebounding Cerritos 24 to 11.

The Moorpark College men's basketball team will tip off against defending state champion Riverside in the final of the Rancho Vista Shootout at 5 p.m.

Despite blowing a 18-point halftime lead, Moorpark (4-3) opened up a four-game winning streak with a 88-77 win over Canyons.

"We lost that lead against Canyons, and they're real good, so it was real easy to fold the tent," said Moorpark coach Remy McCarthy. "To come back like that (was great)."

After the Cougars had come back to the tie the game, Moorpark's Kyle Olandt scored seven points on consecutive possessions by following a 4-point play with a 3-pointer.

"He'll be able to build on that the rest of the year," said McCarthy of the Westlake High product.

The Moorpark College men's basketball team and Ventura College women's basketball team will play marquee tournament finals Sunday in Lancaster and Visalia.

The Raiders (4-3) will face defending state champion Riverside in the Rancho Vista Shootout at 5 p.m.

The Pirates (9-0), the No. 1-ranked team in the state, will face Cerritos (7-4) in the final of the 16-team Gilcrest Invitational at 4 p.m. in a matchup of the two winningest coaches in state history.

Cerritos' Karen Welliver has 579 wins in 27 years and Ventura's Ned Mircetic has 573 wins in 20 years.

Dallas Rutherford had 28 points, five rebounds and five assists as Moorpark built an 18-point halftime lead on the way to a 88-77 win over Canyons.

Mike Meza had 17 points, including 13-of-14 shooting from the free throw line, and Kyle Olandt and Mike Mazarei added 11 points apiece as Moorpark won its fourth straight game.

Erika Ward scored 22 points, including 16 in the second half, as Ventura dug out of a 22-19 halftime lead to beat No. 25 San Jose, 50-40.

Kris King had 10 points and Chanelle Brennan added six points and seven rebounds.

Ventura has reached the final of the state's top regular season tournament 13 of the past 15 seasons.

Ventura College women's soccer coach Steve Hoffman on the 3-0 loss to Consumnes River in the state semifinals Friday morning in Sacramento.

"On the day, they were a little bit better than we were," said . "I was disappointed in our performance."

Ventura (19-4-1) was boosted by Jazmarae Strozier's return from injury. The Buena High product started and played the full match 10 days after injuring her knee in the regional semifinal win over Santa Monica.

"She was fine. She was healthy."

"I talked to her at halftime and she was 100 percent. She just didn't get her shots."

Ventura went down 1-0 on a beautiful goal by Consumnes River star Dani Arellano, who took a long pass and flicked the ball over the head of a defender before finishing cooly.

"You can't teach that. It's something you learn playing soccer all your life."

With the loss, Ventura fell to 0-8 in postseason play away from home.

"We just never got the second bounce... It's hard when you go on the road in these games."

Two goals by Dani Arellano pushed host Cosumnes River past the Ventura College women's soccer team, 3-0, in the state semifinals Friday morning in Sacramento.

Making its first appearance in the state Final Four after a 14-year wait, Ventura (19-4-1) was boosted by the return of attacker Jazmarae Strozier, who played the full game 10 days after injuring her knee in the regional semifinal win over Santa Maria.

The Pirates started brightly, but Arellano flicked the ball over a Ventura defender's head to score a beautiful opening goal on the counter attack in the 37th minute and, following 20 minutes in which Ventura pressed for an equalizer, added the key second goal from the penalty spot after a Ventura defender handled in the penalty area with 17 minutes to go.

Freshman Cristina Gomez added a third goal in the 86th minute, converting on the counter attacker as Ventura committed bodies upfield.

Consumnes River (16-4-4) will face Santiago Canyon (21-0-2), the top-ranked team in the nation, in Sunday morning's state title game.

Santiago Canyon was pushed all the way by American River before prevailing, 3-2, in a see-saw match.

Ventura College sophomore attacker Jazmarae Strozier will start the state semifinal against No. 5-N Consumnes River this morning at 10 a.m., according to VC coach Steve Hoffman.

"We don't know how long she'll go, but she's going to play," said Hoffman.

Strozier, the state's co-leader in goals alongside Consumnes River's Dani Arellano with 30, injured a knee scoring her third goal of the postseason in the regional semifinal win over Santa Monica.

Hoffman also said that freshman defender Lauren Nelson had drawn the assignment of marking Arellano, who was featured in this morning's Sacramento Bee as the ultimate soccer mom.

We will have live coverage of the state semifinal live from Sacramento here on the blog and on our Twitter feed. Kickoff is at 10 a.m.

Feature: VC pair eyes a bigger goal by Joe Curley

Semifinal preview: Strozier's return could be key for VC by Joe Curley