McCormick savoring her run to state tournament

Though Crystal McCormick says she plans on playing basketball into her 80s, she may never have a more special season than the one she’s now enjoying with her Orange Coast College teammates.

The Pirates (29-5) open the Commission on Athletics State Championships tonight against Merced (27-9) in a quarterfinal that tips off at 7 at Selland Arena in Fresno. Orange Coast, which won its only state title in 2002-03 with a 31-6 record, is hoping to become the second team in school history to record at least 30 wins.

A state title, though a longshot, is also among the goals. And Coach Mike Thornton has learned not to count this team out.

“We have the hunger to achieve more, for sure,” said McCormick, who by merely pulling on a Pirates jersey has achieved more than most believed she could.

“I know people didn’t think I’d be able to play in college and that really made me determined,” said the 5-foot-6 sophomore guard, who leads the Pirates in scoring (12.1 points per game) and three-pointers (84). “I did everything I could to be able to play [beyond Capistrano Valley High].”

Thornton acknowledged that McCormick needed someone to take a chance on her coming out of high school.

“I watched her play a couple years at Capo Valley and she could shoot with the best of them,” Thornton said. “But she didn’t do a whole lot of other things.”

But after meeting with McCormick, Thornton saw her passion for the game and a believed her determination would help her improve.

“She likes basketball more than just about any player I’ve had [in 17 seasons] here,” Thornton said. “Her competitiveness won me over.”

Having improved her ball handling and defense, as well as adding to her offensive repertoire, McCormick has won over many others. She was named first-team All-Orange Empire Conference and has been a critical component to the team’s success.

She made five three-pointers and scored a game-high 21 points in the Pirates’ 69-64 Southern California regional playoff victory over Imperial Valley on Saturday to advance to the eight-team state tournament.

McCormick also set a school single-game record with 10 three-pointers in a five-overtime win over Fullerton this season. In that game, she finished with 46 points, equaling the school’s single-game mark.

While shooting is still McCormick’s biggest strength, she now brings much more to the court, Thornton said.

“She has become a much more complete player in her two years here,” Thornton said. “She gives a lot more attention to defense, she handles the ball a lot better, and she has worked to develop her drive to the basket.”

Thornton said McCormick, who said she had never heard the term “shooter’s mentality,” also needed to work on being more assertive from the perimeter.

“Sometimes, I’ve got to get on her to shoot more,” Thornton said. “There have been times when she has become a little too team-oriented and doesn’t look for her shot as much as we want her to.

“We’ve told our girls that she is always the first option. The ball goes in to our posts [fellow all-conference honorees Jillian Ricks and Madison Parks] and if they don’t have a shot, they need to look to pass to her first.”

McCormick ? who began playing at age 8 and used to race her father to the newspaper in the morning to check the scores to see how Gary Payton, her favorite player, did ? displays her passion for the game by playing with reckless abandon.

“I fall on the ground, a lot,” she said with a laugh. “I really like going after the ball. God, I just love to play.”

McCormick plans to attend BYU-Hawaii, an NCAA Division II program in the process of starting a women’s basketball team.

“I would love to play there,” she said. “I’ll be playing basketball, no doubt, the rest of my life.”

Thornton said McCormick’s success story is a metaphor for this team’s season.

“Considering all the things this team has gone through, this team has come closer to reaching its full potential than any team I’ve coached, with the possible exception of the state championship team,” Thornton said. “I couldn’t ask them to do much more.”

Though Thornton may not ask, McCormick did not hesitate when questioned about the team’s goal in Fresno.

“Win,” she said.dpt.09-mccormick-CPhotoInfoQ51OOLHU20060309ibs7zkkfDAILY PILOT(LA)OCC’s Crystal McCormick leads the team in scoring and three-pointers.