Rough start dooms Pirates in tourney semifinals

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College women's basketball team fell into a deep hole in the opening minutes of Friday night's semifinal game and lost to Irvine Valley, 61-38, at the 2014 Erin Tomlinson Coast Christmas Classic.

Taking on one of the top teams in the state, the Pirates (3-8) fell behind 18-0 in the opening minutes to the Lasers (11-1) and never got back to within striking distance the rest of the evening.

The loss drops the Pirates into the third-place game on Saturday (3 p.m.) against College of the Canyons, while IVC takes on Palomar for the tourney title at 5 p.m.

Deanna Fink led the Pirates with 13 points and five rebounds, while Maddy Seward added 11 points as the reserves earned the majority of the minutes in the contest.

Jordan Coleman had 11 points, while Breanna Turner added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Lasers.

In other Erin Tomlinson Coast Christmas Classic action ... 

• Palomar 89, Canyons 82 -- In the most intense battle of the entire tournament, the Comets (10-1) withstood a second-half run by the Cougars (7-4) to advance to the tourament title game. Keisha Cox, who led the Comets with 21 points and 12 rebounds, picked up her fifth foul midway through the second half, but the rest of her teammates picked up the slack, including Tessa Balcom, who chipped in 20 points. Three other players -- Jessica Scott (15 points), Chelse Ayala (14 points) and Lynnzy Troxwell (10 points) all reached double figures for the Comets. Qimmah Russo led the way for the Cougars with 24 points, while Nayiri Aslanian, Julie Ilsby and Jordan Oster each chipped in 14.

• Cuesta 66, Southwestern 47 -- A close game was broken open with a late second-half run as the Cougars (9-3) topped the Jaguars (4-6) and advanced to the consolation finals. Jerrica Crosby had 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead the way for Cuesta, while Kaylee Williams added 10 points and four assists.  For the Jaguars, Sam Silva had 12 points, while Anessa Wolfblack and Taylor Smalley each chipped in 11 points.

• Saddleback 53, Chaffey 31 -- It was a rough day at the office for the Panthers (2-11) as they fell behind early and could never recover from it against the Gauchos (6-7). Deja Brooks had 14 points and Emily Cox added 11 for the Gauchos, while Trencia Bartlett led the Panthers with 10 points.

SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE

1 p.m. -- Saddleback vs. Cuesta (Consolation finals)

3 p.m. -- Canyons vs. Orange Coast (3rd-place game)

5 p.m. -- Irvine Valley vs. Palomar (Tournament championship)