Pirates bomb away on Vikings early in 91-55 win

COSTA MESA -- The long-range shooting of the Orange Coast College women's basketball team was white-hot early and the Pirates took full advantage as they rolled to a 91-55 nonconference win over visiting Long Beach City College on Wednesday night inside the Peterson Gym.

Bridgette McIntyre, who hit her first SEVEN shots from beyond the arc, finished with 25 points and also grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds for the state's No. 4-ranked Pirates (10-1). Hailey Estrada made the most of her first start of the season, finishing with 15 points, three assists and four steals, while Ashari Cassell and Alyssa Dreessen each added 14 points. 

Solid bench play was turned in by Myia Collins (nine points, three rebounds, three assists) and Makena Ching (eight points, seven rebounds, four assists).

For the 14th-ranked Vikings (7-7), the combination of OCC's hot shooting and stifling full-court press were too much to overcome as they turned the ball over 27 times. Brillana Boyd led the offense with 16 points, while Kimberly Cruz-Martinez added 14 points.

The pace was set right from the opening whistle as the Pirates came out firing on both sides of the ball. Coast forced 10 first-quarter turnovers and held LBCC to just 2-of-7 shooting for the opening 10 minutes. Over that same span, Coast put up a whopping 23 shots (making 12), including a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point land. Estrada set the pace early with 10 points, with McIntyre and Dreessen added eight each.

McIntyre found her hot hand in the second quarter, draining 5-of-6 from downtown and scored 15 of OCC's 25 second-quarter points as the Pirates cruised into halftime with a 54-22 lead. 

Coast had 19 steals for the game, led by Dreessen's five and Estrada's four. Coast also took care of the boards against a bigger Vikings' team, 52-43. 

The Pirates will enjoy some holiday cheer for the next few days but will be right back into the fire at the East Los Angeles College Tournament, which kicks off on Dec. 28 against No. 7 Moorpark, beginning at 7 p.m. On the 29th, the fun continues as OCC takes on the state's top-ranked team, Butte College in a state finals rematch, also at 7 p.m. For the final game, OCC gets the host team, the 21st-ranked Huskies on Dec. 30 at 6 p.m.