Orange Coast College

Women's Basketball: Pirates to open playoffs at Antelope Valley

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College women's basketball team earned a 14th seed will play at third-seed Antelope Valley in the first round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs on Friday, beginning at 7 p.m.

The Pirates (21-10) finished the 2009 season in third place in the Orange Empire Conference standings, but earned their 18th consecutive postseason appearance and their 19th in the past 20 seasons.

This will be the second meeting between the two schools this season. The Pirates topped the Marauders 57-51 in the championship game of the Santa Barbara Tournament back on Nov. 9. It was the fourth-lowest point total for AVC (26-9) this season.

These two schools also have some recent postseason history as well. Last season, the 17th seeded Marauders upended the top-seeded Pirates 73-63 at OCC.

AVC is led by sophomore standout Florida Siaosi. The 5-foot-11 forward averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds per game for the Marauders. Against the Pirates on Nov. 9, she was right on track, scoring 17 points and grabbing 12 boards in the loss.

Another Marauder to keep an eye on is forward/center Tiejera Mathews. The 5-11 freshman was second to Siaosi in scoring (10.1 points per game) and rebounding (6.3 rebounds per game) this season. Against Coast, she grabbed 11 rebounds, but was held to just six points.