Pirates finish second at Moorpark Tournament

MOORPARK -- The banged up and bruised Orange Coast College women's basketball team finished second this past weekend at the Moorpark College Women's Basketball Tournament.

The nine-player Pirates (8-3), playing without the services of Dayanara Armenta and Morgan Johnson, opened things with a solid 67-64 win over host Moorpark. Jasmine Matar led Coast with 17 points, while Chanelle DiCroce added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Also, a very strong contribution was turned in by reserve forward Kelcie Mayott, who notched 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 21 minutes of work. 

"She's been our most improved player of the season so far," OCC head coach Mike Thornton said of Mayott. "She had a huge game for us against Moorpark and continued that strong play all the way into Sunday."

The win pushed the Pirates into the championship semifinals against Gavilan, where Coast prevailed, 70-41. Coast jumped out to a 43-27 halftime lead and never looked back. Raechelle Davis had a monster game with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Matar added 13 points, five rebounds and six steals, while Mayott again was effective with 10 points and four boards off the bench.

Coast advanced to the tourney title game against Sierra, but the gas tank was nearing "empty" and the Wolverines topped OCC, 55-44. 

Kelsey Dalton led the offense with 12 points and eight rebounds, while DiCroce added 11 points and eight boards and Mayott tossed in 10 points to go along with six rebounds.

Mayott and DiCroce earned all-tournament honors for their strong play throughout the weekend.

The Pirates will host the 2013 Erin Tomlinson Coast Christmas Classic, beginning on Wednesday. OCC and seven other teams -- College of the Canyons, Chaffey, Cuesta, Irvine Valley, Palomar, Saddleback and Southwestern -- will go at it in this three-day event.

Game times and matchups are as follows ... 

WEDNESDAY

GAME 1 -- Canyons vs. Saddleback, 1:30 p.m.

GAME 2 -- Southwestern vs. Irvine Valley, 3:30 p.m.

GAME 3 -- Chaffey vs. Orange Coast, 5:30 p.m.

GAME 4 -- Cuesta vs. Palomar, 7:30 p.m.

THURSDAY

Consolation Semifinals -- Loser 1 vs. Loser 2, 1:30 p.m.

Consolation Semifinals -- Loser 3 vs. Loser 4, 3:30 p.m.

Championship Semifinals -- Winner 1 vs. Winner 2, 5:30 p.m.

Championship Semifinals -- Winner 3 vs. Winner 4, 7:30 p.m.

FRIDAY

Consolation Championship -- 3:30 p.m.

Third-Place Game -- 5:30 p.m.

Championship Game -- 7:30 p.m.