Pirates open OEC with big road win at IVC
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast (12-3, 1-0) | 17 | 16 | 19 | 16 | 68 |
|
Irvine Valley (9-6, 0-1) | 14 | 13 | 19 | 14 | 60 |
IRVINE -- The Orange Coast College women's basketball team opened Orange Empire Conference play in hostile territory and managed to pull out a 68-60 win over rival Irvine Valley on Wednesday night at IVC.
Bridgette McIntyre led the state's fourth-ranked Pirates (12-3, 1-0 in the OEC) with 20 points, while Ashari Cassell added 14 points. Sabrina Lopez had a solid, all-around night with 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Jordan Arreola tossed in 10 points. Off the bench, the duo of Hailey Estrada and Myia Collins combined for 11 points and eight rebounds to bring some added depth to the OCC offense.
For the state's 14th-ranked Lasers (9-6, 0-1), Makena Tomlinson had 14 points and 10 rebounds, Haruka Mikuma added 13 points and Moka Saiki tossed in 12 points.
One big bring spot for the Pirates came from the free-throw line ... an area that's been hot and cold for the defending state champs. Entering Wednesday night's game with a team average under 70% from the line, Coast hit 14-of-15 (93.3%) and outscored the Lasers, 14-4 in that category.
After the Lasers opened the game with a made 3-pointer, the Pirates grabbed a 5-3 advantage and never trailed the rest of the night. OCC's lead grew to as many as 12 midway through the third quarter (43-31) after a McIntyre 3-pointer, but IVC used a 13-4 run over a 3-minute span to pull to within 3, capped off by an Emily Freeman 3-pointer.
But a made 3 from Estrada and a Collins layup pushed OCC's advantage back up to eight and the Lasers would not creep closer than that the rest of the night.
The rivalry road trip continues for the Pirates as they travel to Golden West on Friday night to take on the Rustlers, beginning at 5 p.m.
