Glendora, CA - The Citrus College Lady Owls made an amazing charge in the second half to erase a 15-point half-time deficit, but it would be to no avail in a 67-59 loss to Ventura on Saturday night.
The loss, coupled with the forfeit win coming on Wednesday night will place the Owls at 16-15 on the season and 7-4 in the Western State Conference with their post-season fate still up in the air.
The Owls jumped out to a 16-10 lead in the first half, but were held to just two free throws over the final ten minutes and they went into the intermission down 33-18. Things got worse before the got better and with just 9:52 remaining Citrus trailed by 19 points, 54-35. Soon the Owls would go on a 25-5 run, capped off by a Jenny Sirk three-pointer with just over a minute to play as Ventura led 63-59. McKena Richardson helped to ice the win for the Pirates, however, hitting 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch. Richardson finished the game with 27 points, leading all scorers.
Citrus was led once again by All-State Sophomore Alexis Pope, scoring 25 points and 15 rebounds, along with four steals and two blocked shots. Nicole Cunningham also recorded a double-double, scoring ten points with 15 boards. Jasmine Redmond added eight points and three steals in the losing effort.
West LA was scheduled to make an appearance in the Owl’s Nest on Wednesday night, but has been forced to forfeit. Therefore, the Lady Owls will not be back in action until Saturday when they travel to face Santa Monica in the regular season finale.