OCC moves closer to title

COSTA MESA — The Orange Coast College women’s basketball team often has played Cerritos twice in the same year.

Twice in an eight-day span? Not so much.

But that’s what the Pirates were facing Saturday night in the semifinals of the Coast Christmas Classic. And, despite a rough-shooting first half, OCC found a way to top the Falcons yet again, 72-60, at OCC.

The Pirates (13-1) advance to the championship game of the tournament today at 3:30 p.m., where they’ll tangle with Saddleback in a clash of expected Orange Empire Conference powers.

“We have a really big rivalry with [Cerritos],” said OCC Coach Mike Thornton, whose team beat Cerritos, 76-61, on Dec. 7. “It’s probably as good a nonconference rivalry as there is in women’s basketball in Southern California. When we play them twice in the same year, a lot of times the team that wins the first one doesn’t win the second one. I knew it was going to be a grind-it-out thing tonight.”

The second game against Cerritos (8-5) started strangely enough, as the scoreboard went out for roughly five minutes at the 18:20 mark of the first half after OCC sophomore Courtney Ford crashed into the scorer’s table. But the delay proved fortuitous for the Pirates, as it allowed sophomore guard Rachael Maulit — who had suffered a minor right ankle injury seconds earlier — to limp out of the game and get it taped up.

She came back in four minutes later, and the Pirates would need her. Maulit tied a season-high with 10 points, adding eight assists, three steals and committing just one turnover. In OCC’s two Coast Christmas Classic games so far, Maulit has dished out 15 assists while committing just the one turnover.

OCC, which is on a 10-game winning streak, trailed just once at 4-2. The Pirates, ranked No. 2 in Southern California and No. 3 in the state, built their lead to 11 at halftime despite shooting just 12 of 38 from the field (31%) in the first half, including zero for 12 from three-point range.

But Cerritos shot just six of 25 (24%) from the field in the first half. The Falcons also committed 18 turnovers for the game, compared to just 10 for the Pirates, and were bothered at times by the OCC press defense.

“We were really hyped up about our press,” Maulit said. “We just wanted to get after it as soon as we could.”

Cerritos hung around Saturday until deep in the second half. But, with OCC up, 66-52, with about four minutes left, Ford made three straight Pirates baskets to help put the game out of reach.

Ford finished with game-highs of 24 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Sophomore guard Katie Kissee added 12 points for the winners, and freshmen Simone Ibbotson and Casey Gomez both scored eight.

Coast Christmas Classic

Semifinal

Orange Coast 72, Cerritos 60

Cer– Neely 19, McClellan 17, Wilson 9, Taylor 6, Cooley 3, Lewis 3, Butler 3.

3-pt. goals – Neely 2, Cooley 1, McClellan 1.

Fouled out - None.

OCC – Ford 24, Kissee 12, Maulit 10, Ibbotson 8, Gomez 8, Taylor 7, Barney 3.

3-pt. goals – Gomez 1, Barney 1.

Fouled out - None.

Technicals - None.

Halftime – OCC, 29-18.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at matthew.szabo@latimes.com.