Women’s Basketball: Pirates’ comeback thwarted

SANTA ANA — Coach Mike Thornton believes his Orange Coast College women’s basketball team needs to have a blue-collar approach. Instead, the Pirates appear intent on inducing white knuckles.

For the second straight game, OCC rallied from a sizable early deficit in an Orange Empire Conference clash at Santa Ana on Friday. But this time, the comeback was wasted when the Dons netted the game-winning basket at the buzzer to claim an 84-82 triumph.

OCC freshman point guard Chyann Pendergrass scored 18 fourth-quarter points to help the Pirates pull even at 80, and also at 82, the latter on a Sami Little put-back with 11 seconds left.

The Pirates (10-8, 1-1 in conference) appeared to have a stop on the ensuing possession, when Santa Ana’s Rachel Cain was stripped of the ball on the right wing as she fell to the ground. But the loose ball rolled across the key into the hands of Santa Ana freshman Blaysen Varnadoe, who collected it and sank a 12-foot buzzer-beater to give the Dons (12-6, 1-1) a dramatic victory.

OCC, which rallied from a 20-point first-quarter deficit to claim a 71-68 win over Cypress in the conference opener at home on Wednesday, trailed, 18-2, and was down by 15 early in the third quarter on Friday.

Santa Ana, which had won just two of the previous 29 games against Orange Coast, dating back to 2002, allowed the Pirates to pull within 63-60 with 7:44 left. But the Dons regrouped well enough to forge a 73-62 advantage with 4:50 remaining.

Still, the Pirates proved relentless. Pendergrass, who finished with a team-best 25 points, scored 12 of her team’s next 18 points. And Pendergrass’ fourth three-pointer of the quarter made it 80-80, with 53 seconds left.

Pendergrass rebounded Santa Ana’s missed three-point attempt with 38 seconds left, but was stripped while dribbling upcourt by Dons’ freshman guard Lauren Fruto, who turned her steal into a layup to put the hosts back on top with 26 seconds remaining.

Pendergrass made seven of 11 field-goal tries in the final period, when she was four for seven from three-point range. She was nine for 18 from the field overall and she finished with five three-pointers. She also added a team-best four assists to go with six rebounds, one block and one steal. Her six turnovers, however, were tops among all players and she made two of five foul shots, typifying the Pirates’ poor night in that department.

OCC was eight for 18 on free-throw attempts (44.4%), while Santa Ana made seven of 11.

The Dons had 24 turnovers, nine more than OCC, but shot better from the field (47.9% to the Pirates’ 39.8%) and earned a 50-44 rebounding advantage.

OCC freshman Jenna Rodriguez had 17 points and 17 rebounds (eight offensive) and shared the team lead with three steals. She earned her only assist on Pendergrass’ final three-pointer. But she made just one of five foul shots, all in the final 11 minutes.

Little had 18 points and seven rebounds, but was seven for 25 from the field, including two for 11 from threedom.

Sarah Nunes had 10 points and Michelle Wu added seven as OCC starters accounted for 77 points.

Varnadoe had 34 points and 14 rebounds to go with three assists and two blocked shots for the winners, who halted a two-game losing streak.

“[OCC] is a great team and we knew they weren’t going to lie down and die,” said Santa Ana Coach Flo Luppani, who played at OCC. “Everyone is relentless in this conference and [the Pirates] are. That’s what they do. But that’s what we do and I’m proud of our kids. I’m proud of both teams. It was a great game.”

Thornton was disappointed by the recent trend of poor starts, though he praised his players’ resiliency.

“It was nice to see the way we came back, and we have good kids who are all competitors,” Thornton said. “[Pendergrass] is an unbelievable competitor. But [the players] have to learn that they are a blue-collar team that needs to be ready to play all the time. We can’t keep digging ourselves a hole coming out. We were fortunate [against Cypress], but if we keep [starting poorly], it’s going to be a long year.”

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Orange Empire Conference

Santa Ana 84, Orange Coast 82

SCORE BY QUARTERS

OCC 13 21 15 33 – 82

SAC 23 22 14 25 – 84

OCC – Rodriguez 17, Nunes 10, Pendergrass 25, Little 18, Wu 7, Guzman 3, Fink 2.

3-pt. goals – Pendergrass 5, Little 2, Wu 1.

Fouled out – Lewis.

Technicals – None.

SAC – Ivicevic 12, Roberson-McCanless 5, Varnadoe 34, Ventura 9, Cain 5, Sanchez 8, Vargas 4, Fruto 4, Liebel 3.

3-pt. goals – Varnadoe 2, Ivicevic 2, Cain 1, Ventura 1, Liebel 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.