Pirates top Gauchos to move into first-place tie in OEC
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast (16-9, 7-2 OEC) | 25 | 23 | 48 |
|
Saddleback (16-10, 7-2 OEC) | 18 | 24 | 42 |
MISSION VIEJO -- The Orange Coast College women's basketball is truly validating the old saying, "Sometimes, less is more." With just seven players, the Pirates not only topped Saddleback College, 48-42 on Wednesday night, the win moved Coast into a first-place tie in the Orange Empire Conference with the aforementioned Gauchos.
Chanelle DiCroce led the Pirates (16-9, 7-2 in OEC) to their sixth straight conference win with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Raechelle Davis added 10 points and 15 rebounds -- her 11th double-double of the season.
Coast held the Gauchos (16-10, 7-2) to just 23 percent shooting the entire night (17-of-74), including 5-of-30 from 3-point range.
Deja Brooks was the lone Saddleback player in double figures and finished with 18 points. The rest of the Gauchos shot a combined 9-for-54 from the field (16.7 percent).
Saddleback's cold shooting began right from the opening whistle as Coast jumped out to an 18-7 lead over the first 14 minutes of play.
The lead grew to as many as 17 as the Pirates led 37-20 with 11:45 left in the contest before the Gauchos finally found some offensive success. Saddleback outscored Coast 18-3 to cut OCC's lead down to 40-38 with 4:41 left.
But another crucial defensive stand by the Pirates kept Saddleback off of the scoreboard for the next three minutes, allowing DiCroce to score the next four points, giving OCC a six-point advantage with 1:36 left.
Saddleback again got to within a basket at 44-42 with 51 seconds left, but a successful layup by Dayanara Armenta with 24 seconds left and a pair of made DiCroce free throws with 15 seconds left sealed the deal for the Pirates.
OCC will return home to face Santa Ana for Coaches vs. Cancer Night, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
