Pirates fight back to shock Chargers, 71-68

COSTA MESA -- Facing a 20-point deficit late in the first quarter of play, the Orange Coast College women's basketball team looked like it was going to have a long night against the relentless Cypress College Chargers.

Instead, that long night went the way of the guests as the Pirates rallied all the way back for a 71-68 comeback win over the Chargers on Wednesday night inside the Peterson Gym.

Cypress (13-5, 0-1 in Orange Empire Conference) followed up a 34-point opening quarter with just 34 points the rest of the evening. After hitting 13-of-23 shots from the floor -- including 5-of-8 from 3-point range -- in the first 10 minutes, the Chargers went ice cold in the second quarter, hitting just 1-of-11 from the floor and 0-2 from downtown as the Pirates (10-7, 1-0) outscored Cypress, 22-8, in the second quarter to trail by only four at the half, 42-38.

Michelle Wu scored eight of her team-high 16 points in that game-changing second quarter, while Jenna Rodriguez added seven of her 15 points in the same frame.

The Chargers maintained a slim lead throughout most of the third quarter before the Pirates finally got back even on a Sami Little layup with 2:21 left to tie things at 50.

Chyann Pendergrass, who nearly pulled off a triple-double with 10 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, drained a 3-pointer late in the third to bring the Pirates back to within a point at 55-54 and less than a minute into the fourth, a Wu layup put Coast ahead for the first time, 56-55. 

Dominique Culho, who led Cypress with 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, tied the game at 62 with 5:11 left in the game on a made free throw, but from the there, Coast went on a pivotal 6-0 run over the next two-plus minutes on made layups by Wu and Pendergrass and a pair of made free throws by Little.

Down the stretch, a pair of made 3-pointers by Alyssa Movchan kept the Chargers within striking distance, but a layup by Pendergrass and a made free throw by Wu was enough to keep the Pirates ahead for good.

The starting five for the Pirates outscored the Cypress starters 65-47, but a key contributor for Coast came on the boards from reserve guard/forward Deanna Fink, who pulled down eight rebounds in just 13 minutes of play. 

Coast will return to action on Friday at Santa Ana, beginning at 7 p.m. OCC's next home game is Wednesday night against Irvine Valley, also at 7 p.m.