Pirates beat Desert 70-50 at season-opening Valley Invitational

Led by freshman guard Trinity Ramirez' 14 points, the Porterville College women's basketball team picked up its first win of the season, a 70-50 triumph over College of the Desert on Saturday at the Valley Invitational tournament at San Bernardino Valley College.

The Pirates went 1-2 at the season-opening tourney as they suffered a 66-36 loss to host SBVC on Friday and a 71-39 defeat to Glendale Community College of Arizona to close the event on Sunday.

In the win over Desert, PC held a narrow 32-27 advantage at halftime before going on to outscore the Roadrunners 38-23 over the final two quarters.

Ramirez had a great all-around game for the Pirates, adding 6 steals, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists to her team-leading 14 points.

Sophomore Sisi Cruz scored 12 points off the bench, nailing 4 three-pointers to spark the Pirates. Freshman Hailey Johnson totaled 10 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals while freshman Jessica Mabey chipped in with 8 points and 5 rebounds.

Porterville got off to a troubling start to its season-opener on Friday. San Bernardino Valley outscored PC 16-2 in the first quarter before the Wolverines cruised to the win.

The Pirates, who made just 13 of 70 field goals in the contest, were led by Johnson's 10 points and 7 rebounds. Mabey added 8 points while sophomore Bryanna Hernandez totaled 5 points, 5 steals, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists.

PC got off to another slow start in the loss to Glendale, falling behind 15-5 after the first. Porterville also had trouble maintaining possession as the squad committed 40 turnovers.

Mabey scored a team-high 11 points while Ramirez added 8 points. Johnson led the Pirates with 9 rebounds to go along with 3 points and 2 assists.

 Porterville returns to action on Thursday (Nov. 7) when they open the three-day Merced College Tournament with a 2 p.m. game against Diablo Valley College.