Orange Coast College

Women's Basketball: Pirates pull out win over MiraCosta

Friday, November 28, 2008

COSTA MESA -- The sophomore tandem of Casey Gomez and Simone Ibbotson led the way for the Orange Coast College women's basketball team in Friday's 52-36 win over MiraCosta at the Orange Coast Crossover.

Ibbotson led all scorers with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Gomez added 15 points, six assists and four steals for the Pirates (5-1).

For the rest of the Pirates, it was a tough night of shooting as they shot a combined 6-for-30 (20 percent), excluding Gomez and Ibbotson. Included in that equation was a 1-for-13 night from the 3-point arc (7.6 percent).

Fortunately for Coast, its defense put forth a solid effort, holding the Spartans (1-4) scoreless for an eight-minute stretch, giving the Pirates a 28-13 halftime lead. OCC forced 31 MiraCosta turnovers for the game and held the guests to just 27.5 percent shooting (11-of-40) on the night.

OCC's lead grew to 31-13 early in the second half before the Spartans used an icy-cold shooting spree by the Pirates and turned it into a 16-0 run, cutting the lead to 31-29 with 10:20 left in the game.

A Gomez 3-pointer stopped the bleeding and pushed OCC's advantage back to five. After a pair of MiraCosta free throws made it 34-31, the Pirates got three straight points from Jenna Lujan, a basket by Ibbotson and a trey from Michelle Lewis to widen the lead to 42-31 with 5:30 left. OCC was never threatened the rest of the way.

Tiffany Hunter led the Spartans with 14 points, six rebounds and three assists.

OCC wraps up this weekend's Crossover on Saturday against San Bernardino Valley, beginning at 2:30 p.m.

In the early game, SBCC topped Santa Ana 70-66, led by 22 points from Kimberly Kipp, 12 points from Eisha Sheppard and 10 from Dwayanna Pullum.

SAC's Barbie Toscano led the Dons with 21 points, while Danielle Leigh added 10.

The Dons will play MiraCosta in the early game on Saturday, beginning at 12:30 p.m.