Pirates hang on to top Jaguars in Coast Christmas Classic opener

COSTA MESA -- The home cooking tasted extra good for the Orange Coast College women's basketball team, as the Pirates topped Southwestern, 72-67, on Thursday night in the opening round of the 2014 Erin Tomlinson Coast Christmas Classic, held at the Peterson Gym.

After playing the first nine games on the road, the Pirates (3-7) enjoyed the familiar surroundings and it showed on the offensive end as four different players reached double figures en route to the win.

Jasmine Matar led the way with another double-double for the season, scoring 18 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Nicole Beaudoin drained four 3-pointers on her way to 16 points, while Bianca Gonzalez added 12 points and seven rebounds and Danielle Obong chipped in 11 points off of the bench.

The balanced offense helped negate the strong showing from Southwestern's Chelsea Ball, who led all scorers with 26 points and seven rebounds. Anessa Wolfblack and Taylor Smalley each added 10 points for the Jags (4-5).

With the win, OCC will advance to the championship semifinal on Friday night against conference foe Irvine Valley, beginning at 7 p.m.

In other tournament action ... 

• Irvine Valley 67, Cuesta 59 -- In a matchup of two of the top teams in the tournament, the Lasers (10-1) used a strong second half to top the Cougars (8-3) in their opening-round matchup. Tara Casey led the Lasers with 14 points, while Breanna Turner was strong down low with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Falecia Cabral had 21 points and six rebounds for the Cougars, while Jerrica Crosby added 11 points and Oliviah Gemperle chipped in 10 points for Cuesta in the loss.

• Palomar 84, Saddleback 78 -- Palomar's Keisha Cox had a tourney opener to remember as she scored 35 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out eight assists to lead the Comets (9-1) to victory. Her 35 points was just two shy of the tournament record, held by Alejandra Hernandez of Southwestern College (1995) and Andria Booker of San Diego Mesa College (1999). Jessica Scott added 21 points and seven rebounds, while Lynnzy Troxell came off the bench and added 10 points and four rebounds. For the Gauchos (5-7), Emily Cox led the way with 19 points, while teammate Shantiana Daniels also tossed in 19 points to go along with nine rebounds. Deja Brooks was close behind with 17 points, while RaShawna Williams came off the bench and contributed 11 points.

• College of the Canyons 69, Chaffey 55 -- In the opening game of the tournament, the Cougars (7-3) jumped out early and held off a gritty effort by the shorthanded Panthers (2-10). Three COC players -- Monica Friedl, Qimmah Russo and Jordan Oster -- each had 12 points for the Cougars, while Lizeth Guzman notched a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. For the Panthers, Chelsea Waddy-Blow led the way with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Denisha Spivey and Bianca Gutierrez each tossed in 12 points.

FRIDAY'S SCHEDULE

• 1 p.m. -- Chaffey vs. Saddleback (Consolation Semifinal)
• 3 p.m. -- Cuesta vs. Southwestern (Consolation Semifinal)
• 5 p.m. -- Canyons vs. Palomar (Championship Semifinal)
• 7 p.m. -- Irvine Valley vs. Orange Coast (Championship Semifinal)