Wu's big night propels Pirates past Lasers
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Irvine Valley (9-12, 1-4) | 13 | 19 | 11 | 16 | 59 |
|
Orange Coast (14-9, 2-3) | 24 | 15 | 12 | 17 | 68 |
COSTA MESA -- Michelle Wu had 24 points to lead the Orange Coast College women's basketball team to a solid 68-59 win over visiting Irvine Valley on Wednesday night inside the Peterson Gym.
Wu was 9-of-12 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from 3-point land. Chyann Pendergrass and Megan McCullough added 10 points each for the Pirates (14-9, 2-3 in Orange Empire Conference).
Coast drained 11 3-pointers for the night to spark the offense and forced 18 IVC turnovers along the way.
Kydell Pearson had 21 points to lead the Lasers (9-12, 1-4), while Serena Saba added 13 and Elizabeth tossed in 10.
Coast got the offense cooking right from the opening whistle as three straight treys by Danielle Obong, Sydney Driggs and Pendergrass, followed by a Wu layup, put OCC in front 11-0 in the first three minutes.
The lead grew to as many as 14 (32-18) before IVC began to chip away at the deficit, using a 14-7 run to close out the half down by only seven (39-32).
The Lasers opened the third quarter with an 7-1 run and got to within a point at 40-39 with 5:48 left in the frame, but Coast reeled off nine straight points to pull the lead back up to double figures.
From there, clutch 3-pointers by McCullough, Wu and Bela Raimondi in the fourth quarter kept the Pirates comfortably in front the rest of the night, giving OCC its third win of the year against the Lasers.
The Pirates will travel to Fullerton College on Friday night at 5 p.m. The Hornets will be having a "Khloe Kares Night" where people are encouraged to bring in various toiletries to help support and assist homeless women in the L.A. and Orange County areas. Coast fans are encouraged to do whatever they can to help this noteworthy cause. For more information on the organization, go to www.khloekares.com.
