Pirates roll past Cougars in Coast Christmas Classic opener

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College women's basketball team opened up its 2015 Erin Tomlinson Coast Christmas Classic by cruising to a 64-41 win over visiting Cuesta College on Thursday night inside the Peterson Gym.

Sami Little led the Pirates (6-5) with 17 points and six rebounds, while Jenna Rodriguez worked hard down low and banged out 15 points to go along with seven rebounds. Off the bench, Sophia Guzman led the reserves with nine points, while Chyann Pendergrass dished out a game-best eight assists to go along with her seven points.

For the Cougars (4-7), Kendra Losa had 13 points, while Angela Llaverias added 11, but the Pirate defense was dominant all night, forcing 31 turnovers, while holding the guests to just 36.4 percent from the floor (16-of-44).

Leading 39-21 at the half, Coast left no doubt, outscoring the Cougars, 16-3, in the third quarter.

The Pirates will advance to the championship semifinals on Friday against Saddleback, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

In other Coast Christmas Classic action ... 

• Saddleback 76, El Camino 72 -- Teoncea Bennett had 16 points, six rebounds and five assists to lead the Gauchos to an opening-round win over the Warriors on Thursday night. Bryanna Lopez came off the bench and added 12 points, while Taylor Williams chipped in 11 for the Gauchos (5-6). For the Warriors (7-4), Meghan Peneueta led all scorers with 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Kourtney Noa added 18 points and seven boards.

• Irvine Valley 57, College of the Canyons 51 -- Tara Casey and Kydell Pearson each had 14 points to lead the Lasers (8-3) to the six-point win over the Cougars (5-4). De'Jerre Scurry added seven points and nine rebounds, while Jada Haynes chipped in six points off the bench. For the Cougars, Hannah Green earned a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Marina Rojas tossed in eight points.

• Palomar 67, Chaffey 58 (OT) -- In the closest game of Day 1, the Panthers, who dressed just five players, pushed the defending tournament champion-Comets to overtime on a 3-pointer by Alexis Frondarina with four seconds left, but in the end, the deeper Comets' squad finally ran away from the pesky Panthers in the extra session, outscoring them 9-0. Roshell Lamug led Palomar (8-2) with 13 points, while Ariana Hernandez and Cheyenne Ertz each added nine points off the bench. For Chaffey, Chelsea Waddy-Blow had 18 points and 16 rebounds, while Frondarina added 17 points. Denisha Spivey played a solid, all-around game with eight points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.

Day 2 action of the Coast Christmas Classic will be as follows ... 

• 1:30 p.m. -- Chaffey vs. Canyons (Consolation Semifinals)
• 3:30 p.m. -- El Camino vs. Cuesta (Consolation Semifinals)
• 5:30 p.m. -- Palomar vs. Irvine Valley (Championship Semifinals)
• 7:30 p.m. -- Saddleback vs. Orange Coast (Championship Semifinals)