Community college women’s basketball: Hatsushi leads the way
Steve Virgen
COSTA MESA - The Nancy Hatsushi Show has traveled across the street
and still carries a strong following.
Hatsushi, a former standout at Costa Mesa High, scored a game-high 16
points and dished out six assists in front of her former coach, Jim
Weeks, and teammates to lead the Pirates to a 73-52 win over visiting
Cerro Coso in the opening round of the Southern California Regional
Playoffs Friday.
The Costa Mesa Mustangs fans also received a special treat with 1:15
remaining when another former Mesa star, Leigh Marshall, knocked down her
only shot of the game, a three-pointer.
But, it wasn’t all feel-good action for the Pirates (24-8), who did
not impress their coach.
“We played real poorly,” said OCC Coach Mike Thornton, who noted his
team’s goal is to reach the state’s final four in Stockton. “We have to
play a lot better. That was the worst defensive team we have played.
That’s a game where we should score 85-90 points. I was disappointed and
I haven’t been disappointed in them very much this season. Nancy came up
big and she provided us with the (scoring) spurts.”
The Pirates will host Palomar (a 53-44 upset over Santa Barbara)
Tuesday at 7 p.m., and the winner will play for the right to advance to
the final four.
OCC, which is riding an eight-game winning streak, built a 42-27
first-half lead, but shot just 35% from the field (14 of 39). The Coyotes
(15-17) didn’t help their cause by shooting 5 of 20 from the foul line in
the first 20 minutes.
Hatsushi opened the second half with a three-pointer after a pass from
OCC team captain Kyra Melville, a sophomore forward who scored 13 points
and grabbed seven rebounds. Hatsushi then fed a pass to Lindsey Galasso
for another three-pointer, to put the Pirates up, 48-27 with two minutes
spent.
Coast eventually earned its biggest lead, 60-35, with 10:47 remaining
and cruised to the win. OCC starting center Charlenda Van Buren led the
Pirates with 10 rebounds, while Candice Quiroz contributed eight points.
OCC finished second in the Orange Empire Conference after closing with
a seven-game winning streak that was capped by a 63-55 win over host
Santa Ana, ending the Dons 24-game OEC winning streak.
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