Pirates top Hornets to remain in first-place tie atop OEC
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fullerton (7-19, 3-8) | 20 | 27 | 47 |
|
Orange Coast (18-9, 9-2) | 28 | 23 | 51 |
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College women's basketball team is hoping for one more home game in 9-10 days, but for now, the Pirates will have to settle on Wednesday night's 51-47 win over Fullerton as their last home game of the season.
"It's going to come down to the RPI rankings at the end of the season," OCC head coach Mike Thornton said. "Only the top eight seeds get a home game in the first round of the playoffs and we're right around that 8-9-10 spot, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens."
Dayanara Armenta led the Pirates (18-9, 9-2 OEC) with 14 points, while double-doubles were recorded by a pair of her teammates, Raechelle Davis (13 points, 12 rebounds, five blocks) and Chanelle DiCroce (12 points, 12 rebounds). Jasmine Matar anchored the boards with a team-best 13 rebounds to go along with five points, five assists and four steals.
Kelli Calton led the Hornets (7-19, 3-8) with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Coast struggled early in the first half before closing things out with an 11-0 run to take a 28-20 halftime lead. A pair of layups by Davis and five points by Armenta highlighted OCC's late-half run.
The Hornets used their press and deeper bench to keep things close, but the Pirates fought hard and never relinquished their lead throughout the second half.
With Coast leading only by two points at 43-41, DiCroce stepped up and nailed a 3-pointer to push OCC's advantage up to 46-41. The Hornets would not get any closer the rest of the way.
The win keeps the Pirates in a first-place tie with Saddleback atop the OEC standings. Coast will wrap up the regular season at Riverside City College, while the Gauchos finish up at home against Fullerton. Both games will begin on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
Playoff seedings for women's basketball will be announced on Monday.
