Pirates conquer win column with 103-91 win over Saddleback

COSTA MESA -- It was an offensive highlight show for the Orange Coast College women's basketball team as they picked up win No. 1 with a 103-91 Orange Empire Conference win over visiting Saddleback on Friday night inside the Peterson Gym.

Friday's win, which snapped a 14-game skid this year (19 dating back to last year) was well earned for the Pirates, who reached the 100-point mark for just the second time in 10 years. 

Aubriona Mathis dominated the paint for the Pirates with 35 points and 18 rebounds. She was 13-of-24 from the floor, a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line and even drained a 3-pointer along the way. Mathis' 35 points are the most by a Pirate player since Courtney Ford scored 37 against Santa Ana during the 2007-08 season.

Sydney Driggs, who battled foul trouble in the first half, came alive in the second half with 28 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Isabella Hollibaugh added 19 points and seven rebounds.

For the Gauchos, Kayla De Leon had 26 points, including six 3-pointers, Raven Harrington added 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Nagina Hamid and Jazmine Langford (14 rebounds) each tossed in 16 points.

The basket looked huge for OCC right from the opening whistle as the hosts jumped out to a 50-43 lead at the half. For the game, Coast was 39-of-75 from the floor (52%), 7-of-14 from 3-point range and 18-of-26 from the free-throw line.

A strong start to the second half pushed Coast's lead to 16 (65-49), but the Gauchos closed out the third quarter with a 23-8 run and trailed by one heading into the final quarter of play.

Saddleback managed to even the score at 74 early in the fourth, but OCC would not be denied as a basket by Mathis and a 3-pointer by Driggs pushed OCC's lead back up to five at 79-74. The Gauchos would not threaten the rest of the night as the Pirates ripped off 30 four-quarter points to cap off their impressive scoring total.

The Pirates will return to action on Wednesday at Santa Ana College (7 p.m.) before returning to the Peterson Gym on Friday against Irvine Valley (7 p.m.).