Bunting, Matar pace Pirates past Tigers, 56-49
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Riverside (6-14, 1-5) | 24 | 25 | 49 |
|
Orange Coast (13-9, 4-2) | 27 | 29 | 56 |
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College women's basketball team found the Peterson Gym 3-point arcs to its liking on Wednesday night as the Pirates pushed past visiting Riverside City College, 56-49, in an Orange Empire Conference matchup.
The Pirates (13-9, 4-2 in the OEC) nailed eight 3-pointers en route to the victory. Caitlin Bunting was responsible for four of those treys as she and teammate Jasmine Matar each scored 14 points to lead the offense. Dayanara Armenta was close behind the OCC duo as she scored 12 points to go along with four assists.
Raechelle Davis and Chanelle DiCroce, who each were held to just five points, contributed in other areas for the Pirates. Davis pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds and blocked five shots, while DiCroce added 10 boards and four assists.
Tierra Faqua led the Tigers (6-14, 1-5) with 17 points and six rebounds.
It looked like it would be a different story early on as the Pirates struggled offensively and trailed 15-7 eight minutes into the contest.
The RCC lead was still holding at seven (20-13) with 9:51 left before the Pirates outscored their guests 14-4 to close out the first half with a 27-24 lead.
The Tigers, who fell behind by as many as nine early in the second half, stayed close and pulled to within four at 43-39 with 7:15 left before five straight points from Bunting pushed OCC's lead back up to nine at 48-39 with 5:52 left.
That would be as close as the Tigers would get the rest of the night as the trio of Bunting, Armenta and Matar provided enough offense to keep OCC's lead safe.
The Pirates remain a game out of first place in the OEC as both Saddleback (64-58 over Fullerton) and Cypress (84-66 over Santa Ana) posted victories on Wednesday night.
OCC will kick off the second half of conference play at home on Wednesday night against Irvine Valley, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
