Barry FaulknerVeteran Orange Coast College women’s basketball...

Barry Faulkner

Veteran Orange Coast College women’s basketball coach Mike Thornton

said he has talked to his players all season about resiliency. But,

after the Pirates’ 55-52 come-from-behind victory over Cerritos in

the third-place game of the Coast Christmas Classic on Sunday at OCC,

any future references to the topic might be considered overkill.

The Pirates (7-5) consistently rallied against the taller,

quicker, deeper Falcons (8-7), who led, 46-40, with 6:54 remaining.

But, in a game that featured eight lead changes, it was a 12-0 OCC

run that allowed Thornton’s scrappy seven-player squad to celebrate

just 19 hours after a devastating semifinal defeat.

“Our players were distraught after losing on the last shot

[Saturday night to El Camino],” Thornton said outside the team’s

locker room Sunday. “They were all crying after the game, because

they really wanted to play for the championship today.

“But we’re big on being resilient, because that’s essential when

you get into [Orange Empire] Conference play later on. Our girls all

play hard and get along and they know how to compete. So, I figured,

they’d come back strong today.”

OCC started fast, all right, scoring the game’s first seven points

en route to a 10-2 lead.

But Cerritos battled back to make the first 20 minutes a seesaw

affair and take a 27-23 advantage into intermission.

OCC, however, started the second half with a 6-0 run triggered by

a Rhondi Naff layin on the opening inbound play.

The two teams continued to trade momentum, before Daisy Benjamin

scored twice inside to put the visitors up, 46-40.

But Naff, a sophomore out of Costa Mesa High and bound for Cal

State Bakersfield, hit a three-pointer with 5:27 left that ignited 12

straight OCC points.

Sophomore Lauren Stepanski scored on a putback, freshman Valerie

Katayama drained a three ball, Stepanski scored on an up-and-under

move in the lane and freshman guard Teeya Fernandez sank both ends of

a one-and-one to round out the run and give OCC a 50-46 edge with

2:12 left.

Cerritos, however, kept chipping away and trailed, 53-52, after a

basket with 38 seconds left.

OCC, which had to work hard all game to simply execute its offense

against active Cerritos defenders, then missed a jump shot that just

beat the shot clock, giving the Falcons six seconds to regain the

lead.

But Katayama picked off a pass in the backcourt and, after being

fouled with 0:00.7 remaining, made both free throws to finalize the

win.

Naff, who finished with a team-high 15 points, was joined on the

all-tournament team by Katayama, who had 12 points.

Stepanski added 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while

Christen D’Alessandro chipped in eight points and five rebounds.

The Pirates played with just seven players, one shy of their

typical allotment, since freshman Crystal McCormick chooses not to

play on Sundays for religious reasons.

“I was a little worried about fatigue, especially playing the

third straight game in a tournament,” Thornton said. “We have to work

for everything and the girls are real pleased with this win.”

Orange Coast can savor the satisfaction through Christmas, before

returning to action Dec. 28 in the Palomar tournament.

Coast Christmas Classic

Third-place game

Orange Coast 55, Cerritos 52

Cerritos -- Benjamin 17, Simms 10, Willis 4, Martinez 3, Carter 3,

Clark 6, Stigger 4, Echois 3, Roberson 2.

3-pt. goals -- Martinez 1.

Fouled out -- None.

Technicals -- None.

Orange Coast -- Naff 15, D’Alessandro 8, Stepanski 10, Katayama

12, Fernandez 7, Viloria 3.

3-pt. goals -- Katayama 2, Naff 1, D’Alessandro 1.

Fouled out -- None.

Technicals -- None.

Halftime -- Cerritos, 27-23.