OCC on to final four

For only the second time in school history, the Orange Coast College

women’s basketball team will advance to the final four of the State

Tournament after a 63-53 victory in a quarterfinal matchup with

Merced Friday at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

OCC (28-7), in its 256th year of existence, last made it to the

final four in 1994, but will now face three-time defending state

champion and top-seeded Ventura tonight at 7.

The Pirates shot 60% (13 of 20) in the first half to take a 36-24

lead and finished at 51%, including 50% (7 of 14) from three-point

range. Merced shot 39% (23 of 59) from the field.

The biggest shot came from sophomore point guard Nancy Hatsushi,

who hit a 23-foot jumper with 1:03 remaining to hold off the Blue

Devils (30-7).

“That’s not a shot I usually take, but I knew the clock was

running down and I just let it go,” said Hatsushi, who finished with

13 points to go with six assists, four rebounds and two steals. “I

was confident and just shot it, but thank God it went in.”

Trailing, 45-44 -- Merced’s only lead of the game -- Hatsushi took

control at the top of the key, and with little options available,

hoisted her sixth three-point attempt and it found nothing but net to

give the Bucs the lead for good.

“I knew we weren’t going to continue to shoot 60% for the rest of

the game,” said OCC Coach Mike Thornton.

Freshman Alisa Carrillo hit six free throws down the stretch to

hold off the Blue Devils, who were led by a second-half surge from

Rataya Williams, who scored 21 of her game-high 27 points over a

10-minute stretch spanning both halves.

Carrillo led the Bucs with 20 points and added four rebounds.

Sophomore Candice Quiroz netted six points on 3-of-6 shooting in 10

minutes of action.

A trio of three-pointers by Liz Mendoza helped Coast grab the

early edge. Mendoza finished with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field, including draining 4 of 5 from beyond the arc, all four

coming in the first half. The sophomore forward also grabbed six

boards.

Merced, the north’s No. 2 seed, turned the ball over 13 times in

the first 12 minutes, allowing Coast, the south’s No. 3 seed, to take

a 24-10 lead.