Pirates fall late to Dons, 66-65
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Santa Ana (15-9, 4-4) | 12 | 20 | 14 | 20 | 66 |
|
Orange Coast (13-11, 4-4) | 17 | 10 | 21 | 17 | 65 |
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College women's basketball team came up a point short to visiting Santa Ana College as the Dons escaped the Peterson Gym with a 66-65 Orange Empire Conference win over the host Pirates on Wednesday night.
Trailing 63-59 with 2:13 left in the game, Coast used a 6-2 run on made layups by Jenna Rodriguez, Chyann Pendergrass and Sami Little to tie the game at 65 with 34 seconds left. But, on the game's final possession, SAC's Blaysen Varnadoe was fouled with two seconds left. The conference's leading scorer calmly went to the foul line and put the Dons ahead with her first attempt. Her second shot was waived off due to a lane violation, giving Coast one final heave, but OCC's half-court shot came up short.
Varnadoe, who entered the game averaging 20.5 points per game, was "held" to just 16 points and a game-best 17 rebounds, but teammate Rachel Cain did the Pirates in with six made 3-pointers, en route to a 24-point performance for the Dons (15-9, 4-4).
Jenna Rodriguez led the Pirates (13-11, 4-4) with 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Pendergrass added 15 points and five assists. Off the bench, Deanna Fink was a terror on the glass, pulling down 11 rebounds (six on the offensive end).
Coast was outscored 27-9 from beyond the arc and was held to just 39.4 percent from the floor (28-of-71).
The Pirates will return to action on Friday at Irvine Valley College (5 p.m.) before returning to the Peterson Gym on Tuesday to host Fullerton (5 p.m.).
