Pirates advance to third round with big win over Lasers

COSTA MESA -- After being stuck in neutral for the past few weeks, the Orange Coast College Women's Basketball found their playoff gear and cruised in the fast lane to a 79-55 win over Irvine Valley in the second round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs on Saturday inside the Peterson Gym.

With the win over the 17th-seeded Lasers (16-14), the top-seeded Pirates (24-5) will advance to the State Sweet 16 where they will host Cerro Coso on Saturday at 7 p.m. with the winner going to the State Finals the following week at Mt. San Antonio College.

After struggling past the Lasers in the season finale at IVC (53-49), Coast regrouped and came out with an intensity and focus not seen in quite some time. Five different players reached double digits, showing everyone that the Pirates are far more than just a one-dimensional team. 

Zoie Lamkin led OCC with 19 points, while Myia Collins earned herself a triple-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Hailey Estrada nearly matched Collins with 15 points with a solid, all-around effort with 15 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, while Alyssa Dreessen notched a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Off the bench, Kayla Borgelt added 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals.

For the Lasers, Haruka Mikuma had a hot hand with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting and 4-of-5 from 3-point land. However the rest of the IVC squad shot a combined 15-for-45 (33.3%), thanks to an OCC defense which forced 19 Laser turnovers.

Friday's game was decided shortly after the National Anthem was sung as the Pirates jumped out to a 20-4 lead and were never threatened the rest of the night. IVC came out chilly, hitting just 1-of-11 from the floor, while Coast went 7-of-15 and an impressive 5-from-8 from the free-throw line, a stat that has plagued the Pirates over the past several games. Lamkin was a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor and her seven first-quarter points paced the offense, with Estrada close behind with six.

Coast never trailed in the game and led by as many as 34 points early on in the fourth quarter before a late IVC run made the final score closer than the game actually was.

The Pirate effort was apparent from the opening whistle as they earned 19 second-chance points, to IVC's 5. 

Up next for the Pirates in the third round will be No. 8-seeded Cerro Coso, who earned the trek next week from Ridgecrest to Costa Mesa after topping L.A. Valley College, 72-61, on Saturday night. The Coyotes were led by Shaniyah McCarthy with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Lia Sims came off the bench for 16 points. Cerro Coso, the Inland Empire Athletic Conference runner-up behind Mt. San Jacinto, comes into Saturday's matchup with a record of 24-5.