Pirates hold off Vaqueros, 66-60

COSTA MESA -- The defense of the Orange Coast College women's basketball team helped mask some shooting troubles as the Pirates pulled out a 66-60 nonconference win over previously-unbeaten Santa Barbara City College on Saturday inside the Peterson Gym.

Myia Collins carried Coast down the stretch with 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Zoie Lamkin hit three crucial 3-pointers and finished with 17 points. Kayla Borgelt overcame a rough shooting night and contributed elsewhere, with nine points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals. 

For the Vaqueros (6-1), Kenedy Nuter had 15 points, while Isis Poteet and Aariah Fox added 13 points each.

It was a game of streaks early on as the Vaqueros came out strong, jumping out to an 8-0 lead after Coast started the game with five turnovers and no points for the first four minutes of the game.

Then, OCC turned the tables on SBCC, outscoring the Vaqueros 14-0 the rest of the first quarter, holding the Vaqueros scoreless for the final 7:34 of the quarter for a 14-8 advantage.

But then, it was Santa Barbara's turn to go on a run and over the next three minutes, the Vaqueros scored 12 in a row to grab a 20-14 advantage.

Coast missed several wide-open looks and 13 first-half free-throw attempts and STILL trailed only by two (30-28) at the half thanks to that OCC defense that forced 16 first-half turnovers.

The Pirate offense found a bit more success in the third quarter and carried a 44-40 advantage on the Vaqueros, heading into the fourth quarter. Coast pushed the lead up to nine at 53-44 with 6:36 remaining, but the Vaqueros would not go away.

With the Pirates holding a 61-54 lead, a pair of 3-pointers by the Vaqueros and a Pirate turnover gave SBCC the ball with 12 seconds left, trailing only by two at 62-60. Kaylee Bosetti's jumper to tie the game was blocked by Borgelt and after Collins grabbed the loose ball, the OCC free-throw shooting found its groove at the right time as the Pirates hit their last four from the line to close out the game, improving their numbers to 10-of-28 from the "charity" stripe for the game (35.7%). 

SBCC struggled with OCC's pressure all game and had 28 turnovers. Lamkin had a pair of steals to go along with nine fourth-quarter points to lead OCC in the final 10 minutes of the game.

The Pirates will travel to East Los Angeles College on Tuesday for a road matchup with the Huskies, beginning at 5 p.m. OCC's next home game will be on Friday, Dec. 6 against Long Beach, also at 5 p.m.