Pirates don’t impress coach in win

CYPRESS — With 548 career wins under his belt in 26-plus seasons, Orange Coast College women’s basketball coach Mike Thornton has developed a discerning eye regarding the merits of each triumph.

So it was that he virtually pooh-poohed Friday’s 88-74 victory over Grossmont in the first round of the Cypress tournament at Cypress College.

Freshman center Elizabeth Sakamoto had a career-best 15 points and 10 rebounds, sophomore guard Michelle Wu added a career-best seven assists to her 15 points, and sophomore reserve guard Danielle Obong matched her career-best scoring output with 14.

But Thornton, focusing on what he called his team’s two worst halves of the season, gave as little leeway to his players as the officiating crew that whistled 55 combined fouls.

“There is not one player on our team that played as well as they could play,” Thornton said after his team improved to 6-1 with its sixth straight win. “We can’t have that.

“We came off a great tournament up north [winning the Sequoias tournament by beating a Sequoias team in the final that had been 8-0 and had won its first two tournaments]. But today we took a step back.”

OCC began with a misstep against the Griffins (1-5), who bolted to leads of 7-0 and 12-8. But the Pirates used their full-court press to spur a 29-5 run to take command for good.

OCC led, 51-29, at halftime and upped the lead to 25 midway through the third quarter. The Pirates led, 80-59, with five minutes left, but a 15-2 Grossmont surge trimmed the lead to eight and forced Thornton to put some key players back into the game.

The 6-foot-3 Sakamoto made seven of nine field-goal attempts and is now shooting 71.4% from the field for the season (25 for 35).

Sakamoto, Wu and sophomore point guard Chyann Pendergrass (eight points and eight assists), helped restore order in the final minute and propel the Pirates, who forced 26 turnovers, into Saturday’s semifinals against Palomar at 5 p.m.

Palomar (7-1 after Friday’s first-round win against Santa Monica) handed OCC its lone loss this season, a 70-46 thumping in the season opener on Nov. 11.

Thornton, though leery of the challenge against a Comets squad coached by his former player and assistant coach, Leigh Marshall, is looking for improvement on Saturday.

“Normally you have to play well, when you don’t really shoot well,” Thornton said after his team, which shares the state lead with 75 three-pointers, was 25 for 70 from the field (25.7%) and just seven for 30 from three-point range (23.3%), “but we didn’t do that today. We didn’t defend, we didn’t do anything [well]. There was nothing positive.”

OCC did have its best production of the season at the free-throw line, sinking 31 of 38 for 81.6%.

Wu was seven for 10 from the foul line, while sophomore Bella Romaindi was eight for nine and Obong netted five of six.

Cypress tournament

Orange Coast 88, Grossmont 74

GMT – Hipol 7, Halcott 2, Gafare 6, Branch 12, Garde 0, Harrison 26, Kreusewitz 9, Mohamed 6, Toma 3, Roberson 2, Linson 1.

3-pt. goals – Harrison 3, Bruesewitz 2, Toma 1.

Fouled out – Roberson.

Technicals – None.

OCC – Lewis 2, Nunes 0, Sakamoto 15, Wu 15, Pendergrass 8, Obong 14, Driggs 8, Raimondi 8, Miramontez 8, Mathis 6, Izzi 4.

3-pt. goals – Wu 2, Pendergrass 2, Miramontez 2, Obong 1.

Fouled out – Lewis.

Technicals – None.

Halftime: 51-29, OCC.