Commitment to winning

Bryce Alderton

Add six freshman to a roster studded with six returning sophomores

from a 25-9 team that was one game away from reaching the state’s

quarterfinals a year ago and you’ve got the 2002-03 edition of the

Orange Coast College women’s basketball team, a team Coach Mike

Thornton calls “better than last year’s team.”

“We’re taking the Angels’ philosophy of, ‘One game at a time,’”

said Thornton, referring to the Anaheim Angels’ motto that Manager

Mike Scioscia regularly talked about during interviews as one of the

catalysts to the Angels winning the World Series this season. “I

don’t know if we can do what (the Angels) did and mentally hang in

there one game at a time, but we’re going to have some really good

players. I don’t know if we have one superstar player but we have a

bunch of good, solid players. Going into the season you always have

an idea of how good you are, but a lot depends on how good everyone

else is.”

Orange Coast has reason to be optimistic with six returners, among

them 5-foot-5 point guard Nancy Hatsushi, an All-Orange Empire

Conference selection and All-Southern California selection last

season, who averaged 10.3 points a game and 3.2 assists. Hatsushi led

the team with 74 3-point field goals, a 44.8% shooting percentage

from behind the arc.

She will be joined in backcourt by Lindsey Galasso, a 5-foot-3

shooting guard who Thornton, entering his 13th year, said will play

point when Hatsushi needs a breather. Galasso averaged 8.4 points and

2.4 assists last season.

Forward Candice Quiroz, a 5-8 sophomore from El Toro High,

averaged 4.7 points and three blocks a game last season and will be

joined in the front court by 5-11 forward Liz Mendoza, who was the

Orange Empire Player of the Year when she played at Century High

School.

Thornton expects Mendoza to be one of the better players in the

conference.

“She’s a good perimeter shooter who has improved her game a lot,”

he said.

Alongside Thornton stands 6-foot Lauren Murray, who Thornton said

has improved more than anybody from last season when she started

part-time and contributed 4.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and collected a

team-high 15 blocks.

Mesa State (Colorado), Cal State Los Angeles, Chico State and Cal

State San Bernardino have recruited Murray, Thornton said.

Quiroz, Hatsushi and 5-4 guard Leigh Marshall are the team’s

tri-captains.

“(Marshall) is the spirit of our team,” Thornton said. “She’s a

very motivational player and has helped bring along other players.”

One freshman who figures to battle for a starting spot is 6-foot

freshman Alisa Carrillo out of Saddleback High School. Kirsten Von

Tungeln, a 6-2 center freshman, transferred from Irvine Valley last

season but didn’t play because of illness should add height to a

Coast squad that features three players at least 6 feet tall.

Freshman guard Amy Shaw, 5-8, will present a threat from 3-point

range and Celeste Haueter, a 5-11 forward who redshirted last season

after undergoing knee surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate

ligament in high school, should be healthy and ready to go when the

Pirates open up their season against Hancock Friday at 7:30 p.m. at

OCC in the first round of the Coast Tip-Off Tournament.

“(Haueter) has improved quite a bit,” Thornton said. “We’re going

to play nine or 10 a game.”

Coast also features two freshmen who stand at 5-9, forward Laura

Garnica and guard Jessica Estrada.

Thornton expects this year’s Pirates to repeat their strong

defensive presence of a year ago, when OCC held their opponents to an

average of 51.3 points while averaging 66 points.

“We’re going to play up-tempo on offense and pressure defense,”

Thornton said.

Orange Coast suffered a one-point loss to Los Angeles Valley last

season for the right to advance to the state’s quarterfinals, but

Thornton said his players aren’t using that game for motivation, but

rather looking to the future instead.