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2008-09 Preview – Accepting the Challenge Once Again!

Since the 2005-06 season, the Orange Coast College women’s basketball program has compiled an overall record of 87-14, advanced to the state Final Four in 2006 and won back-to-back Orange Empire Conference championships in 2007 and 2008 for the first time in school history.

Also in that span, the Pirates have compiled an overall OEC record of 38-4, putting them among the best teams in the state.

“Preseason expectations are always high at OCC and this year is no exception,” OCC head coach Mike Thornton said. “Last year, we were expected to defend our OEC title from Day 1 and had to face the pressure of living up to even higher than usual expectations.

“The 2007-08 season is over and expectations aren’t quite as high this year, but th 2008-09 Pirates are determined to continue the tradition of winning that OCC has developed over the past 19 years.”

Although the challenge this year is different, “Accepting The Challenge Once Again” would seem to be an appropriate theme for this season.

This year’s Pirates’ squad returns only one starter and one other player who received significant playing time last season.

After moving from a starting forward position a year ago, 5-foot-9 guard Simone Ibbotson returns to a more familiar role at a guard-wing position. “Mo is our best athlete and runs the floor exceptionally well,” Thornton said of Ibbotson. “She really could have been an all-conference player last year, but conference rules limit the number of players each team could nominate.”

OCC’s other top returner is sophomore Casey Gomez, a 5-9 guard who became the Pirates’ primary weapon off the bench last year. Look for her to become a steady member of the starting lineup this season. “Casey is a very good spot-up shooter who will be counted on to be a major outside threat in our offense,” Thornton said of Gomez.

Coast’s third returner is 6-1 forward Natasha Cargill, who had limited playing time last year, but has shown solid improvements in all areas this past off-season. “Natasha has always been a talented athlete and should be one of the team’s most improved players this year,” Thornton said of Cargill. “She will be a big part of our inside game, which is one area where we should be much improved and deeper than last season.”

The balance of this year’s Pirates will be made up of 10 incoming freshmen and three sophomore transfers. “Our team is definitely bigger and has more depth than a year ago,” Thornton said. “There is a lot of ‘evenness’ this year and that has resulted in some heated competition in practice for playing time.”

A pair of sophomore transfers could see a lot of playing time for the Pirates. That twosome is 5-4 point guard Anna Simmons and 5-10 forward Jaque Anderson. With all-state guard Rachael Maulit gone, point guard play will be a big void to replace for the Pirates and Simmons has the early nod for that task. Anna played in all 26 games, including two starts, for Division II University of Alaska-Fairbanks.

“She’s a better shooter than Rae was, but she still needs prove that she can rn the offense, play defense and take care of the ball, which are all crucial elements to our offensive system,” Thornton said of Simmons.

Anderson, an Edison High School graduate, comes to Coast after spending a year at Umqua Community College in Oregon. “Jaque is an outstanding defender who will get playing time primarily as a forward, but also at one of the wing positions,” Thornton said.

Among the list of newcomers to see significant playing time this year include 6-0 forward Samantha Harrell (Troy HS), 5-6 guard Chelsea Alfafara (Capistrano Valley HS) and 6-0 forward Jenna Lujan (Mater Dei HS).

“Harrell is an outstanding inside player from a great high school program – she is definitely a candidate for a starting position,” Thornton said of Harrell. “Chelsea has a great knowledge of the game and is best as a wing player, but could be a factor at point guard.

“Jenna played her senior year for Kevin Kiernan at Mater Dei and plays the game with a lot of intensity. Once she gets more familiar with the Pirate system, she should improve greatly.”

With a talented team that can play 10-12 deep this year, Thornton’s options run deep on the bench. Among those who could provide crucial minutes in reserve include transfer Desiree Nguyen (Santa Ana College), Melissa Mahi (Orange HS), Melissa Lewis (Huntington Beach HS), Jessica Vingerelli (Santa Fe HS), Daisy Bueno (St. Paul HS), and Rebecca Murray (Huntington Beach HS).

“I’m almost sure that we will not have a set starting lineup in November or December and it wouldn’t surprise me if we never get there,” Thornton said. “It will depend on how well players perform when they get the opportunity and may depend on who we play.

“We just want to be the best team we can possibly be at the end of the season. Hopefully they will be ‘Accepting The Challenge Once Again!’”