Pirates return to win column with victory over Tigers
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Riverside (11-13, 2-6) | 11 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 57 |
|
Orange Coast (20-4, 7-1) | 25 | 10 | 21 | 14 | 70 |
COSTA MESA -- After a rare setback last week against Cypress, the Orange Coast College women's basketball team went back to the business of winning and tamed the Riverside City College Tigers, 70-57, on Wednesday night inside the Peterson Gym.
Melaiah Joseph had a strong second half and led the Pirates (20-4, 7-1 in the Orange Empire Conference) with 19 points and eight rebounds. Alyssa Dreessen's strong first half helped pace her 18 points, six rebounds and five blocks, while Myia Collins' strong all-around play gave her 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
For the Tigers (11-13, 2-6), N'Dya Parks had a strong night with a game-best 29 points and 10 rebounds, but the rest of the RCC squad went a combined 9-of-43 from the floor (20.9%) for just 28 points total.
It was all OCC in the first quarter as the back-to-back state champs pulled out to a 25-11 lead after the opening 10 minutes. Coast was 11-of-17 from the floor, with Dreessen leading the way with eight points in the paint.
But then came the second quarter ... a quarter that saw Coast go an icy 1-of-16 during one stretch and enabled the Tigers to creep back into the game, trailing only by five at the break, 35-30.
Riverside got to within a point of the Pirates early in the third and trailed only by two (42-40) with just under six minutes left in the third quarter before a 14-5 OCC run put Coast's lead up to 11 at the end of three.
From there, the Pirates played their style of basketball and never let the Tigers back into the ballgame the rest of the way.
The OCC defense forced 20 RCC turnovers and the post play of Dreessen and Collins led to a 36-22 advantage in the points in the paint.
With the win, the Pirates maintain a one-game edge on Fullerton College in the OEC standings and a two-game lead on Cypress with just a handful of games left to be played.
Coast will return to action on Tuesday at Saddleback College, beginning at 5 p.m. OCC's next home game will take place on Thursday against the Hornets, beginning at 6 p.m.
