Buena Makes Rout to 66 Look Like Easy Street

VENTURA — Buena High found a rout to 66.

Expecting a stiff challenge from Ventura, Buena coasted to an easy 58-43 victory for its 66th consecutive Channel League girls’ basketball victory Monday at Ventura.

Suspense left the gym for good at halftime, with Buena holding a 35-19 lead after outscoring Ventura in the second quarter, 17-6.

Ventura (17-10, 4-3), ranked No. 5 in the region by The Times, strung together two strong efforts last week, an eight-point victory over Santa Barbara and a 53-point victory over Nordhoff.

Then came Monday.

Even though it had already clinched the league title, Buena, ranked No. 1, left no doubt as to who is the Channel kingpin.

The Bulldogs (21-3, 8-0 in league play) played stifling defense, forcing Ventura into 14 of 54 shooting (25.9%).

“In a cross-town rivalry, everyone builds it up,” said Buena forward Kelly Greathouse, who scored 19 points. “But if we get into the hype, it’ll upset our focus.”

Consider the Bulldogs focused on everything except their league winning streak.

“We just try to ignore it and keep playing and that type of thing tends to take care of itself,” Buena Coach Joe Vaughan said.

Courtney LaVere scored 13 points for Buena, which made 20 of 38 shots (52.6%).