Palomar wins third straight OCC tourney title
The third time was not a charm for the Orange Coast College women’s basketball team as it played host to Palomar in the championship of the Erin Tomlinson Coast Christmas Classic on Wednesday at OCC.
The Comets, ranked No. 8 in the California Community College Athletic Assn. poll, ran away from the Pirates in the second quarter and cruised to a 98-53 victory.
Palomar and OCC have played three times this season with the Comets (12-2) notching one-sided victories each time.
The Comets defeated the Pirates, 70-46, in the Mt. San Jacinto Tournament on Nov. 11, and 70-44 in the Lady Charger Classic on Dec. 3.
“That’s a great team,” Pirates Coach Mike Thornton said of the Comets. “They played tremendous. They were just too much for us tonight.”
The first quarter was more akin to an NBA All-Star game with both teams running and shooting, combining for 10 three-pointers and 53 points
Kendall Crosby had the hot hand for the Palomar in the quarter, hitting four of her team’s five from behind the arc, helping the Comets take a 28-25 lead heading into the second.
But shots weren’t falling for the Pirates (10-5) in the second the way they were in the first, allowing the Comets to go on a 30-8 run and essentially put the game away at halftime.
By the fourth quarter, the only question was whether the Comets would reach 100 points.
The Comets sat on 98 for about the last two minutes, but couldn’t make the basket that would have given them 100 points in a game for the third time this season.
“We just had some girls that really got hot today,” said Palomar Coach Leigh Marshall, who played for Thornton at OCC for two seasons from 2001-03. “A lot of what we do is based on what I did here as a player. It was the most fun time of my life when I played basketball here.”
Crosby finished with eight three-pointers, tying the tournament record, and scored a game-high 28 points.
Sydney Driggs and Michelle Wu each scored 14 to lead the Pirates.
Driggs and teammate Chyann Pendergrass were named to the all-tournament team
With the victory, Palomar has captured three consecutive Coast Christmas Classic titles, a feat accomplished only once before in the tournament’s 25-year history.
OCC won consecutive titles from 1998 to 2000.
Palomar set a tournament record with 256 points over three games, besting 252 scored by Fullerton in the 1997 tournament.
The Comets also came within six points of tying the record for points in a game, 104 by OCC in 1996.
Erin Tomlinson Coast Christmas Classic
Championship
Palomar 98, Orange Coast 53
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Palomar 28 - 30 - 20 - 20 - 98
OCC 25 - 8 - 10 - 10 - 5
Pal - Crosby 28, Ellis 13, Lamug 8, Puckett 9, Israel 6, Scott 9, Hernandez 6, Todd 6, Weitzel 2, Sheffield 5, Ertz 6.
3-pointers - Crosby 8, Lamug 2, Israel 2, Scott 2, Hernandez 2.
Fouled out - None.
Technicals - None.
OCC - Wu 14, Driggs 14, Obong 3, Pendergrass 6, McCullough 4, Arita 3, Izzi 1, Nunes 4, Mathis 4.
3-pointers - Wu 2, Pendergrass 2, Driggs 2, Obong 1, Arita 1.
Fouled out - None.
Technicals - None.