Pirates stopped in semis

FRESNO ? One game away from the state title game, the Orange Coast College women’s basketball team ran into the one team it could ill afford to face.

The Pirates were overwhelmed in the backcourt and in the frontcourt, eventually losing to Mount San Antonio College, 56-38, in the COA state championship semifinals Saturday at Selland Arena. The Mounties will take on San Joaquin Delta in today’s championship game, their third appearance in the last five years.

Orange Coast (30-3) stayed close early, even taking a 13-9 lead at the 11:46 mark. Mount SAC responded with a 14-1 run and led the rest of the way.

The Mounties’ defense proved to be Orange Coast’s undoing in the first half, forcing 18 turnovers. The Pirates managed just 16 field-goal attempts in the first half, with Crystal McCormick, the Pirates’ top offensive threat, taking just one shot in the opening stanza.

“We knew that if we turned the ball over, those turnovers would become transition baskets for them,” Orange Coast Coach Mike Thornton said. “They took us out of everything we run. We’re kind of a slow team and we’ve been able to get away with that a lot this year. We couldn’t do anything [today].”

The Pirates cleaned up their ball-handling in the second half, only to get beaten on the glass as Mount SAC had a 28-13 second-half advantage on the boards. The Mounties’ Lauren Ervin grabbed 10 of her 11 rebounds after halftime.

Jillian Ricks and Devin Hundley led Orange Coast with 12 points and six rebounds apiece. Hundley was 4 of 6 from three-point range and also had three assists.

Valerie Katayama added seven points, while Teeya Fernandez chipped in with six rebounds and four assists.

McCormick went scoreless, missing her two shot attempts in the game.

“We won 30 games and I don’t think we lost to a team all year that we should’ve beaten, so I’m happy with that,” Thornton said.

Ervin led Mount SAC (34-2) with 15 points to go with her 11 rebounds. LaSheree Christian came off the bench to add 14 points and Sam Cardeno had 10 points.