Orange Coast College

Women's Basketball: Pirates fall in semifinals of Coast Christmas Classic

Saturday, December 20, 2008

COSTA MESA -- It was another tough night of shooting for the Orange Coast College women's basketball team as the Pirates fell to visiting Cerritos, 52-45, in the championship semifinals of the 2008 Coast Christmas Classic on Saturday.

The loss sends the Pirates (10-5) into the third-place game on Sunday against the College of the Canyons, while the win propels the Falcons (8-7) into the title game against Chaffey at 3 p.m.

OCC led 20-16 with 5:25 left in the first half, but the Pirates went basket-less for an 18-minute span that carried deep into the second half. By the time OCC found the bottom of the net, there was 7:20 left in the game and the Pirates were behind, 46-30.

Despite the chilly shooting spree, the Pirates managed to cut into the lead down the stretch. OCC trailed 51-45 and had a good look at a 3-pointer, but the shot rang off the rim and Cerritos held on from there.

The Falcons were led by Maleta Daughtery with 26 points, four rebounds and four steals. She was 10-of-17 from the field, 4-of-6 from 3-point range and 2-of-5 from the free-throw line.

OCC's Casey Gomez led the Pirates' offense with 11 points, while Daisy Bueno added 10. For the game, Coast was 14-of-58 from the field and just 2-of-18 from beyond the arc.

In other Coast Christmas Classic games ...

Chaffey 85, College of the Canyons 56 -- In the other championship semifinal, the Panthers (13-3) came out hot and jumped out to a 42-21 halftime lead and never looked back. Four players reached double figures, including Tamesha Jackson (16 points, six assists), Aundria Anderson (13 points, 14 rebounds), Arielle McClellan (12 points, three steals) and Keisha Mackall (12 points, five rebounds). Jasmine Crayon led Canyons (9-5) with 21 points.

El Camino 46, Saddleback 44 -- In the first consolation semifinal matchup, the Warriors (5-9) advanced to the consolation championship with a hard-fought win over the Gauchos (5-7). Carla Shaw led the Warriors with 10 points. For Saddleback, Johnondra Patterson came through with 16 points, while Jasmine Hamilton added 10.

Southwestern 55, Cuesta 52 -- In the other consolation semifinal contest, Southwestern jumped out to a big first-half lead, then held on down the stretch as a Cuesta rally came up just short. Tagisia Togisala led the Jags (4-6) with 13 points and five steals, while teammate Mercedes Griffis added 12 points and 12 rebounds. Katrina Torres and Kathy Jones each had 17 points for the Cougars (4-12).

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Consolation Championship
El Camino vs. Southwestern, 11 a.m.

3rd Place Game
College of the Canyons vs. Orange Coast, 1 p.m.

Championship Game
Chaffey vs. Cerritos, 3 p.m.