Pirates take 2-of-3 at Mt. SAC Tournament

WALNUT -- The two-time defending state champion Orange Coast College women's basketball team returned to the site of last year's state title victory and won 2-of-3 at the season-opening Mt. SAC Tournament, hosted by Mt. San Antonio College.

The No. 2-ranked Pirates opened the season against No. 13 Victor Valley and handled the Rams with a 69-51 win on Friday. Returning sophomores Myia Collins (24 points, nine rebounds) and Alyssa Dreessen (18 points, 18 rebounds, three blocks) paced the victory for the Pirates, while freshmen Melaiah Joseph and Kayla Borgelt combined for 17 points, eight rebounds and six steals. The Pirate defense forced 25 VVC turnovers Coast outrebounded the Rams, 56-42.

On Saturday it was a clash of two of the top teams in the state as the Pirates took on College of the Sequoias, who had several familiar faces from the past, with the addition of former Butte head coach Tyler Newton, assistant coach Annie Ward and several Butte College transfers. OCC defeated Butte to win the state championship in 2023 before winning again last year against Glendale.

Coming in as the state's top-ranked team, the Giants were just that against the Pirates in an 81-63 win. Coast trailed by 12 at the half and never was able to get back into the contest the rest of the way as COS saw its lead continue to grow over the final two quarters.

Hailey Estrada led the offense with 16 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists, while Borgelt added 12 points, Joseph contributed 11 and Zoie Lamkin tossed in 10. 

With just 24 hours to regroup and recover, the Pirates did just that against No. 3-ranked Moorpark, earning a hard-fought 71-62 win over the Raiders in a rematch of last year's state semifinals matchup.

Coast used a dominating first half of play to outscore the Raiders 44-24 and never looked back from there. Estrada again led the way with 15 points, while Borgelt added 13 points and Lamkin tossed in 12. Collins earned a double-double over the Raiders with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

The 3-point arc was the friend of the Pirates on Sunday as Coast nailed 15 3-pointers, with three each coming from Estrada, Lamkin, Borgelt and Collins.

The Pirates will return to action on Wednesday at Citrus College, beginning at 5 p.m. OCC's home opener will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 20 against Mt. San Jacinto College, also at 5 p.m.