It is another incredible year for the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) women's basketball teams as four programs have earned bids to the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern Regional Playoffs. Orange Coast leads the charge as the top seed in the south, while No. 5 Cypress, No. 8 Irvine and No. 11 Riverside will all look to make a push for a state championship appearance.
The last women's basketball state championship captured by an OEC team was by the Cypress College Chargers in 2005. Previous to them, the Orange Coast College Pirates hauled in the title in 2003.
Orange Coast earned a first-round bye and will face off against the winner of No. 16 LA Trade-Tech and No. 17 Victor Valley. Cypress will await the winner of No. 12 Ventura and No. 21 Cerritos, while Irvine Valley will face off against the winner of No. 9 Mt. San Jacinto and No. 24 Santa Barbara. The two programs earned first round byes as well. Riverside is the lone team to play in round one and will host MiraCosta tomorrow on home hardowwd at 7:30 p.m.
Orange Coast finished the season on a 27-1 note to haul in a conference title. They are led by Coach of the Year Sammy Doucette and Co-Player of the Year Meghan McIntyre. McIntyre transferred from Orange Coast after playing for the Golden West College Rustlers the previous campaign. The transfer continued to act as one of the most pure offensive threats despite the jersey swap. She averaged a conference-best 10.9 rebounds-per-game and 8.3 assists-per-game to go along with 18.6 points-per-game. Her scoring clip ranked fourth overall in conference. She scored 11 or more points in all but one conference game and experienced a season-high 30 points in a win over Mt. San Antonio. She recorded a triple-double in a win over Riverside on January 25 where she scored 16 points, dished out 12 assists and racked up 11 rebounds.
Cypress, who placed second overall in conference, finished the season on a 21-7 note. Ashley Hawkins leads the charge for the Chargers after pacing the conference in scoring as seen in a 22.5 conference points-per-game clip to helm the Charger's offense. She recorded double-digit scoring totals in 27 games this season and surpassed the 10-point mark in every conference contest. Her largest output of the season came in a record-breaking 51 point showing in a win over Ventura. She had her strongest conference game in a 72-55 win over IVC after dropping 34 points. She leads the conference with 270 points scored to go along a 24.5 shooting percentage, 7.5 rebounds-per-game and 5.4 assists-per-game.
Third-place finishing Irvine Valley is led by freshman Trasara Alexander who averages nearly a double-double on the season. She currently boasts a 15.5 points-per-game and 9.2 rebounds-per-game mark. She is currently riding a 13-game double-digit scoring streak highlighted by a 33 points outburst in a win over Fullerton.
Riverside earned the fourth seed and tallies a playoff berth after a year hiatus from the bracket. Freshman backcourt duo Mikayla Roberts and N'Dya Parks lead the squad, while Maxine Najera hold down the offense in the paint. Najera averages a team-leading 11 points-per-game mark highlighted by a massive 33 point, 11 rebounds double-double in a win over Cypress.
Release by Nicho DellaValle, Riverside SID