Pirates move up to No. 2 in state as they open OEC play at Irvine Valley

COSTA MESA -- After a historic start to the 2022-23 season, the Orange Coast College women's basketball team opens Orange Empire Conference play against conference rival Irvine Valley on Wednesday, at IVC, beginning at 6 p.m.

The numbers speak for themselves as the Pirates -- ranked second in Southern California and second in the state, according to the most recent polls -- travel to Irvine to face the 19th-ranked Lasers (12-4) ... 

• 16 games ... 16 wins -- first time in school history an OCC team started 16-0
• Of those 16 wins, nine wins have come against teams currently ranked in Southern California or in the state.
• 12 of those wins have come away from the Peterson Gym, including road wins against L.A. Trade Tech (13th SoCal), Moorpark (3rd SoCal, 8th State), Mt. San Antonio (4th SoCal, 11th state), L.A. Valley (14th SoCal), Canyons (15th SoCal) and West L.A. (20th SoCal) 
• Two more ranked wins at home against Glendale (11th SoCal) and Long Beach (8th SoCal, 18th State).
• Coast leads the state in 3-pointers made (175), attempted (528) and is fourth in the state in 3-point percentage (33.9%)
• Meghan McIntyre is one of 14 players in the state to average more than 20 points per game (20.4) and she is also third in the state in assists per game (6.7).

"Coming into the season I was expecting us to be a good team, but to be 16-0 ... I'm shocked, but at the same time, I'm not shocked because of how hard they have worked this year," OCC head coach Sammy Doucette said. "We spend a lot of time prepping the girls before each game on what our opponents like to do and they have bought into what we are working on, so they are prepared to see what the other team will be throwing at us."

According the Doucette, the first sign of just how special this team can be happened in the fourth game of the season when the Pirates traveled to then-No. 3-ranked Moorpark and rolled past the Raiders, 65-49. "We really showed them what to expect and they bought into the keys of the game and we executed our game plan very well," Doucette said. 'When we did that against a good time like that, I thought that we might have something pretty remarkable happening this year."

While McIntyre has been the floor general for the Pirates this year, several other teammates have stepped up and made things a nightmare for the opposition. Sophomores Karina Cabrera (14.9 points, 2.6 assists, 3.1 steals/game) Annie Trinh (11.3 points, 2.7 assists/game) and Gabby Samiy (10.7 points, 6.9 rebounds/game) have helped spread out OCC's offense, which has allowed McIntyre to not only get her points each game, but to also lead her team in assists.

"We have the ability to penetrate defenses, which forces the defense to sink lower and lower, which allows our 3-point shooters their opportunities," Doucette said. "It the defense decides to stay up on the perimeter, then we can penetrate and score at the basket."

While OCC's "Big Four" have gotten the majority of the Pirates' points, others have done the dirty work down low and have made the most of their minutes off of the bench.

Sophomore forward Savannah Seiler has been a force down low, leading the Pirates in rebounding (9.1/game) while averaging nearly 6 points per game down low. When Cabrera came down with a flu bug, freshman Emmeline Law stepped up her game and averaged 12.6 points over a three-game stretch, including eight made 3-pointers.

While the numbers have been impressive, Doucette continues to push her squad to improve as the season enters its most important chapter. "I still think we can improve our overall defense," Doucette said. "I'd also like to see us be a more consistent rebounding team ... not just when we are playing a bigger team and it's emphasized before the game. We've got some tough teams in our conference and every game is going to be a battle. We open at IVC, which has a new coach, but still has the same solid program its always had. They've got good guards and solid post player, so we will have to play a strong all-around game against a good team at a tough place to play if we want to keep this streak going."

For the record, OCC's longest ever win streak occurred during the 2006-07 season when the Pirates won 17 straight games on their way to 28-4 regular season and an unbeaten run through the Orange Empire Conference. 

Coast's next home game will take place on Friday against Fullerton, beginning at 5 p.m.