Pirates fall to Cougars in third-place game: Palomar wins Coast Christmas Classic

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College women's basketball team mounted a strong comeback late, but came up short as the Pirates fell to College of the Canyons 79-65 in the third-place game of the 2014 Erin Tomlinson Coast Christmas Classic on Saturday at the Peterson Gym.

Coast (3-9) struggled early and trailed 48-23 at the half, but fought back to within striking distance late in the second half, but could not come all the way back against the Cougars (8-4).

Jasmine Matar led the Pirates with 19 points, six rebounds and five steals, while Nicole Beaudoin added 13 points and four assists and Bianca Gonzales chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds. With her solid play throughout the weekend, Pirate guard Deanna Fink earned all-tournament honors. She had seven points and seven rebounds off of the bench in Saturday's game after leading the Pirates in scoring on Friday night.

For the Cougars, all-tourney selection Julie Ilsby had 16 points and seven assists, while Qimmah Russo added 16 points and five assists. Monica Friedl contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Nayiri Aslanian chipped in 13 points and 11 rebounds.

In other Coast Christmas Classic action ... 

• Palomar 74, Irvine Valley 55 -- In the tournament's championship game, the Comets clamped down on the Lasers' offense, holding IVC to its second-lowest scoring output of the season. Both teams struggled to find any offensive success as Palomar (11-1) took a 27-20 lead at the half. But the Comets took charge the rest of the way, outscoring the Lasers (11-2) 47-35 in the second half. Tournament MVP Keisha Cox overcame a slow start and led the way with 16 points and 10 rebounds. She finished the tourney with 72 points, 33 rebounds and 15 assists. Fellow all-tourney selections for Palomar included Jessica Scott (13 points, nine rebounds on Saturday and Tessa Balcom. For the Lasers, they were led by all-tourney picks Jordan Coleman (18 points, three steals) and Breanna Turner (eight points, 15 rebounds). For Palomar head coach, and former OCC player Leigh Marshall, she becomes the first person to win the Coast Christmas Classic as both a player and a coach. She helped the Pirates to the 2002 title as a freshman.

• Saddleback 81, Cuesta 67 -- In the consolation finals, the combination of Emily Cox (24 points and all-tournament selection Deja Brooks (23 points, six rebounds, four assists) were enough to lift the Gauchos (7-7) past the Cougars (11-4). Shatiana Daniels added 13 points, while RaShawna Williams chipped in with 10 points. For the Cougars, Kaylee Williams led the way with 16 points, while Felecia Cabral and all-tourney pick Jerrica Crosby each had 10 points and eight rebounds.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

• MVP -- Keisha Cox (Palomar)
• Tessa Balcom (Palomar)
• Jessica Scott (Palomar)
• Breanna Turner (IVC)
• Jordan Coleman (IVC)
• Julie Ilsby (Canyons)
• Deanna Fink (OCC)
• Deja Brooks (Saddleback)
• Jerrica Crosby (Cuesta)