The No. 1 Orange Coast College Pirates, No. 5 Cypress College Chargers, No. 8 Irvine Valley College Lasers and the No. 11 Riverside City College Tigers are still in the hunt for a California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Championship berth. All four squads will enter into the Southern Regional Final round on Saturday, March 4.
IMPORTANT LINKS
Irvine vs. Orange Coast: Live Stream · Live Stats · Tickets
Cypress vs. Moorpark: Live Stream · Live Stats · Tickets
Riverside vs. Mt. San Antonio: Live Stream · Live Stats · Tickets
Links will be updated leading into Saturday.
The most anticipated match up comes in the shape of two conference foes squaring off featuring the Pirates and the Lasers. Cypress will hit the road to face off against the No. 4 Moorpark College Raiders, while the Tigers will hit the road to compete against the No. 3 Mt. San Antonio College Mounties.
The Pirates and Lasers have met twice in OEC competition with the Pirates earning two wins in tight games. The first time the two teams faced off the Pirates bested IVC on the road, 57-53, behind a 25 point, 11 rebound, 10 assist triple double from sophomore Co-Player of the Year Meghan McIntyre. Karina McIntyre dropped 23 points in the victory as well. Irvine Valley roared back to score 15 points in the fourth quarter, but OCC was able to keep them at bay.
McIntyre led the Pirates past Irvine Valley in their second match up of the season and nearly bagged another triple double. She dropped 23 points, dished out 10 assists and racked up eight rebounds in the victory. IVC's Kennedy Pucci dropped 24 point and crashed the boards for 11 rebounds, but it was not enough in a 66-57 final score.
The Chargers, who defeated No. 12 Ventura 79-67 in the second round, will hit the road to take on Moorpark (24-5). A 30 point, four assist and three rebound showing from sophomore Ashley Hawkins led the Chargers in the win. She was 9-for-19 from the floor with a 4-for-7 clip from long range. Sophomore Jasmine Uy and freshman Alexcia Alvarez combined for 27 points.
Riverside upset No. 6 Long Beach, 62-59, last Saturday to reach their first Southern Regional finals since 2011. They look to make their first state championship appearance since 2008 and will need to get through Mt. San Antonio to do so. The Tigers jumped out to a strong lead in their round two contest by outscoring the Vikings by 11 points in the first quarter which set the tone for the remainder of the game.
Freshman guard Makayla Roberts dropped a team 14 points after failing to score in double-digits in the past two games. She added 10 rebounds to record a double-double. Freshman guard N'Dya Parks followed with 11 points to record her 10th-straight double digit output.
Release by Nicho DellaValle, OEC & RCC Sports Information