Pirates outlast Gauchos

COSTA MESA — Her place in Orange Coast College women’s basketball history already secured, Courtney Ford went about the task of adding to her legend Friday night.

The 5-foot-7 sophomore guard, who became the school’s career scoring leader in the Pirates’ last game Jan. 18., scored a career-high 34 points to propel her team to a 77-74 double-overtime win over Saddleback in an Orange Empire Conference game at OCC.

“She showed why she was the Conference Player of the Year last year,” said OCC Coach Mike Thornton after Ford scored 28 points after halftime to help the Pirates (20-3, 4-1 in conference), ranked No. 5 in Southern California and No. 10 in the state, remain atop a congested and ultra-competitive conference race in which five teams entered Friday’s action with two losses. “She just takes over.”

After Saddleback (16-6, 3-3), ranked No. 11 in Southern California, used a 13-0 burst to take a 43-32 lead with 13:02 left in regulation, Ford, who had nine points to that point on three-of-13 shooting from the field, scored seven during an 11-2 OCC surge that helped the Pirates pull back into it.

A Ford three-pointer with 9:36 remaining put the hosts up, 48-47, but a three-pointer by Saddleback reserve Marissa Douglass with 24 seconds left in regulation gave the Gauchos a 60-58 advantage.

Thornton then called for a clear-out, with Ford taking the ball at the top of the key. She drove past a defender, then somehow lofted a layin over 6-foot-3 Saddleback center Rekeshia Jones to tie it at 60-60 with eight seconds left.

Ford stole the ball on Saddleback’s ensuing possession, on which the Gauchos did not manage a shot attempt.

Saddleback guard Justine Chacon opened the first five-minute overtime with a three-pointer, but Ford and her teammates simply went to work.

Ford, whose 1,131 points coming in were one more than Lisa Schumaker in OCC career annals, scored six of her team’s eight points in the first overtime. Included in that total were two double-bonus free throws with 1:07 left that wound up being the final points of the first extra session.

Ford, who picked up her fourth foul with 5:53 left in regulation, opened the second overtime with a driving, drifting 10-foot runner that banked in while she was being fouled. She converted the foul shot for a 71-68 edge.

After Saddleback, which was trounced, 73-49, by host OCC in their first meeting this season — the title game of the Coast Christmas Classic on Dec. 16 — rallied to lead, 72-71, OCC freshman Simone Ibbotson netted two free throws with 3:06 left to put the Pirates back on top.

Brittany Taylor’s layin, with an assist from point guard Rachael Maulit, put OCC up, 75-72, with 2:26 remaining, then Saddleback star guard Cassie Klockgether was whistled for an offensive foul, her fifth, on the ensuing possession to harm the visitors’ hopes.

After both teams exchanged misses, Maulit drove the lane before dishing to Ford on the right block, extended. Ford converted the 10-footer for a 77-72 lead with 45 seconds left that proved too much to overcome.

“I love those situations,” Ford said of the pressurized environment she seemed to find herself in for much of the final 30 minutes.

Ford, whose previous single-game best was 31 points, added a game-high 14 rebounds, one assist and one steal to her performance. She was 12 of 13 from the foul line, including 11 of 11 after halftime. Though clearly the focus of Saddleback’s defense, she made nine of 28 field-goal tries, including four of nine from three-point range.

Taylor finished with 12 points and six rebounds, while Ibbotson was the other Pirate in double figures with 10 points.

Thornton said Taylor and Ibbotson helped key OCC’s full-court press, which led to a pair of runs that helped overcome some explosive offensive spurts put together by the Gauchos.

Klockgether, Jones and Joy Mason each had 16 points for the visitors, who received 15 points from Chacon. Saddleback shot 46.3% from the field, but OCC won the rebounding battle, 48-45, and committed four fewer turnovers than the Gauchos’ 17.

The Pirates, the defending conference champions, will try to protect their lead with three games next week, beginning with a home clash with Riverside City College Monday.

Orange Empire Conference

Orange Coast 77,

Saddleback 74 (2 OT)

Sad – Mason 16, Paopao 3, Jones 16, Klockgether 16, Chacon 15, Douglass 6, Kaleopa 2.

3-pt. goals – Klockgether 4, Douglass 2, Chacon 1, Paopao 1, Mason 1.

Fouled out – Klockgether, Paopao.

Technicals – None.

OCC – Taylor 12,Ibbotson 10, Ford 34, Kissee 8, Maulit 6, Gomez 7.

3-pt. goals – Ford 4, Gomez 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

Halftime – Sad, 26-25.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at barry.faulkner@latimes.com.