Strong second half pushes Pirates past Hornets
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fullerton (11-9, 2-4) | 13 | 17 | 9 | 13 | 52 |
|
Orange Coast (17-3, 6-0) | 19 | 21 | 32 | 13 | 85 |
COSTA MESA -- After a frustrating first half of basketball, the Orange Coast College women's basketball team did took a deep breath and played their style of game in the second half en route to an 85-52 Orange Empire Conference win over visiting Fullerton College on Friday night.
The state's fifth-ranked Pirates (17-3, 6-0 in the OEC) lead only by 10 and they found themselves playing through foul trouble in the first half. Coast was called with 14 first-half fouls to just eight for the Hornets (11-9, 2-4) and the stop-and-start style kept the game close in the first half with Fullerton trailing only by 10 (40-30) and the break.
But that all changed in the third quarter, as the Pirates regrouped, ignored the whistles and got to the work, outscoring the Hornets 32-9 in the third quarter to put the game away early.
Bridgette McIntyre led the way with 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists. A strong start by Ashari Cassell helped her to an 18-point, five-rebound performance, while Sabrina Lopez added 13 points and five boards. Down low, Myia Collins grabbed a game-best 14 rebounds to go along with eight points and four assists as Coast used a 56-40 rebounding advantage to help control things down low.
The Pirate defense was equally impressive, forcing 25 turnovers on 17 steals and Coast even blocked seven FC shots for good measure.
Xochitl Hood led the Hornets with 15 points, but the rest of the Hornets were held to just 11-of-52 from the floor (21 percent).
With the win, the Pirates continue to lead the OEC with a 6-0 record, with Irvine Valley close behind at 5-1 (14-6 overall) and Riverside two back at 4-2 (11-8 overall).
Coast will wrap up the first round of conference play at Saddleback College on Wednesday (7 p.m.) before returning to the Peterson Gym on Friday against rival IVC, beginning at 6 p.m.
