Orange Coast College

Women's Basketball: Pirates turn one over to Cypress

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

COSTA MESA -- Constant defensive pressure proved too much to overcome for the Orange Coast College women's basketball team in Wednesday's 70-52 Orange Empire Conference loss to visiting Cypress College.

With second place in the OEC at stake, the Chargers (19-9, 7-2 in conference) put the defensive pedal to the metal, forcing 34 Coast (19-9, 6-3) turnovers en route to the win.

When the Pirates were able to fight through the defense, their offense sputtered. Early foul trouble by key players and a tough night of shooting from a collection of players proved costly. OCC shot 30.9 percent from the field (17-of-55), despite a nice night from sophomore standout Simone Ibbotson (22 points, seven rebounds).

Sequana Norris led the Chargers with 23 points, six rebounds and six steals, while Quortlyn O'Neal added 17 points, nine rebounds and five steals.

Things looked good in the early minutes as the Pirates jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the game's first two minutes, thanks to a pair of treys from Ibbotson and a pair of free throws by Gomez. However, the Pirates would manage just 44 points over the final 38 minutes.

Trailing 35-27 at the half, OCC struggled early in the second half as Cypress grabbed hold of the game for good with a 22-6 run to lead by as many as 24 points (57-33). OCC would get to within 12 of the Chargers (58-46) with 4:45 left, but Cypress would not be threatened the rest of the way.

OCC will wrap up its home schedule on Friday against first-place Fullerton, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The Pirates will conclude the regular season at Riverside on Feb. 18 and at Santa Ana on Feb. 20