Late heroics lift Pirates past Mustangs in State Quarterfinals

WALNUT -- With the game and the season on the line, it took the state finals experience of Jordan Arreola to calmly deliver the knockout blow as the Orange Coast College women's basketball team outlasted San Joaquin Delta College, 60-56, in the quarterfinal round of the 3C2A Women's Basketball State Championships, hosted by Mt. San Antonio College, on Thursday night.

With the win, the Pirates (28-3) will take on Moorpark (28-3) in the State Final Four on Saturday, beginning at 3 p.m. Like the Pirates, the Raiders had to grind out a defensive slobber-knocker, edging Laney College, 47-44, in the late-game quarterfinal matchup on Thursday night.

Bridgette McIntyre led Coast with 21 points, but it was the 3-point heroics of Arreola in the final seconds that helped keep the Pirates' season going.

With the Pirates down a point (56-55), the Pirates worked for a final shot and the ball was in the hands of Myia Collins, who drove towards the hoop and saw Arreola open in the corner. The OCC transfer who helped lead Butte College to the state finals a year ago, took the shot and hit nothing but net, putting the Pirates up, 58-56, with just over 11 seconds left in the game.

"Jordan was super clutch for us on that shot," OCC head coach Sammy Doucette said. "She is my lone vet who has state playoff experience. She is trying to get back to that championship game!"

Delta (26-5) took a timeout and then drove down the court with a chance to tie the game, but Orange Empire Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Alyssa Dreessen,  stood her ground and blocked the attempted shot by Delta guard Anyce Jefferson. McIntyre picked up the loose ball, was quickly fouled and then went to the free-throw line and iced the game by making both attempts in the final few seconds.

"Alyssa definitely showed why she was our DPOY this year," Doucette said. 

In a game that was physical and fairly whistle-free, which was an advantage to the Big-8 champion Mustangs, who played an aggressive defensive style throughout the game, holding the state's second-highest scoring team 21 points under their season total of 81-per-game.

The score was deadlocked at 26 at the half, but Coast came out shooting early in the third with a McInytre trey and two made free throws by Ashari Cassell, giving Coast a 5-point lead, 31-26.

The Coast defense flexed its own muscles and held the Mustangs to just two points for the opening three minutes of the third as OCC capped off a 10-2 run to lead 36-28.

The OCC lead reached nine at 45-36 with 3:18 left in the third and it appeared that the Pirates had found a crack in the Mustangs' defensive armor. 

But, the Mustangs regrouped and clamped back down defensive side of the ball, holding Coast to just two points over the next 8 minutes and 53 seconds, sparking a 16-2 SJD run and a 52-47 lead for the Mustangs with 4:35 remaining in the game.

But Coast showed the heart of a defending state champion and went on a scoring run of its own to retake the lead. An Arreola free throw, a 3-pointer from McIntyre and a jumper from Cassell pushed the Pirates back out in front, 53-52.

Two more FTs from Cassell pushed the advantage to 55-52 to cap off an 8-0 run, but Delta responded with back-to-back buckets to grab a 56-55 lead with 41 seconds remaining. A Coast timeout with 39 seconds was followed up 28 seconds later by Arreola's trey to give Coast the lead for good.

Cassell finished with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists for OCC, while Arreola and Sabrina Lopez each finished with nine. Kathreen Noa, Jene Wells and Kiara Council each led SJD with 10 points.

As for Saturday's semifinal, this will be the second matchup of the season for the Pirates and Raiders, who met up at the East Los Angeles Tournament on Dec. 28. Moorpark topped OCC, 51-50, but that seems like ages ago for both teams. "We are so different than the last time we played them," Doucette said. "I'm pumped to see how we match up against them now. We have to be sure to lock in on defense and be ready to guard all of their sets and we can't let (all-state guard, Rebecca Saidoff) pop off and have a big night."

Saidoff averages 16.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, but was held to just nine points against Laney in Thursday's quarterfinal contest. Mika Jarrett (12.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and Keilani Peralta (8.7 ppg) are Moorpark's other point-getters, but the Raiders are one of the top defensive teams, holding the opposition to just under 52 points per game.

The winner of Saturday's State Semifinals will play the winner of the Glendale-Butte matchup on Sunday at 1 p.m. for the state championship.