Dos Pueblos fought back, but ultimately fell to the bigger, stronger Ventura Cougars in a 61-48 decision on Tuesday in the Channel League opener for both teams.
The Chargers fell behind 11-0 at the start before starting to get into the flow of things. They scored on 7 of their next 10 possessions to stay competetive against the league favorite.
“Even though we went down 11, they showed a lot of character to get things going,” said DP assistant coach Mike Gerken, who blamed Ventura’s rebounding advantage as being a major factor.
The Chargers were outrebounded by 13 and gave up 17 offensive boards on the night.
Jessica Escalante led Dos Pueblos with 15 points. Meghan Murphy had 10 and Sara Crane 12.
The 11-4 Cougars were led by Maddie Fahan (16 points) and Kristen Wilson (15).
Dos Pueblos (10-8) faces a second stiff test in two days now that Thursday’s game with Buena (12-6) has been rescheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m.
VENTURA 61, DOS PUEBLOS 48
DOS PUEBLOS – DiMarco 2, Murphy 10, Hoover-Porter 3, Sessler 6, Crane 12, Escalante 15. Totals 22, 0-2. 48
VENTURA – Marsh 2, Frank 12, Fahan 16, Horowitz 1, Wilson 15, Pupa 7, Graham 4, Morgan 4. Totals – 26, 5-7.
Dos Pueblos 8 13 10 17 – 48
Ventura 14 14 18 15 – 61
DP 4 (Hoover-Porter, Escalante 3.) V 4 (Frank 1, Wilson 3) Total Fouls – DP 7, V 6.
