Women’s Basketball: Wu lifts Pirates

With a slight change of heart, Michelle Wu is ready to be wooed.

And with games like Tuesday, the sharpshooting Orange Coast College sophomore is making herself increasingly attractive to prospective four-year women’s college basketball recruiters.

Wu amassed a career-high 24 points to help the host Pirates defeat Irvine Valley, 68-59, in a battle of last-place teams in the Orange Empire Conference.

Wu, whose previous career-high scoring output was 22 on Friday and who ranks No. 3 in the state in three-point shooting accuracy (44.9%), was nine for 12 from the field, including four for seven from three-point range against the Lasers.

OCC’s scoring leader at 12.6 per game, the 5-foot-7 guard has averaged 19.1 in her last eight games, during which she is shooting 58.7% from the field (54 for 92) and 55.8% from threedom (24 for 43).

Wu made her first six field-goal attempts on Tuesday to help the Pirates (14-9, 2-3 in conference) build leads of 11-0, 18-5, and 32-18.

And Wu’s final two three-pointers aided a 14-6 OCC run that helped the hosts pull away in the final 6:42.

Wu, who averaged 7.6 points in 30 games as a freshman, when she was the only women’s player in the state to produce a 4.0 grade-point average, never planned on playing more than two college seasons when she came to OCC.

Only lately, with the urging of Pirates Coach Mike Thornton and perhaps the growing statistical evidence, has she come to believe that college basketball may indeed be in her future.

“[Thornton and I] spoke about it a couple days ago and he said he would talk to some schools about me,” said Wu, a business major whose dream school is Chapman University. “I’m really excited about the chance to continue playing. I’m feeling confident enough to play at the next level. I’m used to the speed of the game at this level, so I want to [continue at a four-year program] now.”

Thornton said Wu, a Fountain Valley High product, is deserving of such an opportunity.

“She’s playing really well, making good decisions and not really forcing things,” Thornton said. “Last year, we couldn’t get her to go to the basket, and now she goes to the basket and finishes. And she has really gotten better defensively. She has improved dramatically.

“She can really shoot,” Thornton said of Wu, who had 15 first-half points. “It seemed like every time we needed a shot, she made it.”

After IVC pulled within 40-39 with 5:48 left in the third quarter, OCC sophomore point guard Chyann Pendergrass scored seven points during a 9-0 run that helped OCC regain control.

Pendergrass finished with 10 points, four assists and five rebounds, while sophomore reserve Megan McCullough chipped in 10 points, six rebounds, two steals and two assists.

“McCullough gave us a spark,” Thornton said.

Sophomore forward Megan Lewis had a team-best nine rebounds, while sophomore guard Danielle Obong, a Costa Mesa High product, contributed seven points, five rebounds and four assists.

OCC was 11 for 32 from three-point range, from which IVC was six for 21.

It was the third OCC victory in as many games against IVC this season, and lifted OCC into fifth place, one-half game behind Santa Ana and Riverside, who share third place with identical 2-2 conference records.

OCC visits Fullerton (1-3 in conference) Friday at 5 p.m.

“This is a big week for us in terms of getting back into the conference race,” Thornton said.

ORANGE EMPIRE CONFERENCE

Orange Coast 68, Irvine Valley 59

SCORE BY QUARTERS

IVC 13 – 19 – 11 – 16 – 59

OCC 24 – 15 – 12 – 17 – 68

IVC – Warren 6, Brown 4, Saba 13, Garcia 10, Zumbo 0, Pearson 21, Hall 4, Dishoian 1.

3-pt. goals – Pearson 3, Garcia 2, Saba 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

OCC – Driggs 6, Lewis 2, Wu 24, Pendergrass 10, Obong 7, McCullough 10, Raimondi 7, Mathis 2.

3-pt. goals – Wu 4, Pendergrass 2, Driggs 2, Obong 1, McCullough 1, Raimondi 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

Halftime – 39-32, OCC.