O.C. Team Lets Chance Slip Away

The Orange County All-Star team, which let a nine-point halftime lead slip away, lost the inaugural Ladies Summer All-Star Classic, 93-90, to the Los Angeles County All-Stars on Saturday at Santa Ana College.

The Orange County team was outscored in the fourth quarter, 34-28, as L.A. County made nine of its last 10 free throws to clinch the victory.

“They were too physical for us and outrebounded us and made more free throws,” Orange County Coach Lionel Horn said.

Daniele Rainey, named the MVP, also gave the Orange County stars problems, scoring a game-high 38 points.

Orange County overcame a seven-point deficit in the first quarter before Erin Stovall sparked a rally with 10 points in the second quarter as the Orange County outscored L.A. County, 30-19, in the second quarter.

L.A. County made a 13-4 run at the beginning of the third quarter and tied the score, 51-51, with 5:20 left in the third quarter.

The teams remained close until L.A. County took an eight-point lead with less than three minutes left in the game.

Stovall, who played at Woodbridge before going to Honolulu Iolani last season, led another comeback, sinking two three-pointers in the final minute to cut L.A. County’s lead to three points. But that’s as close as Orange County would get as L.A. County’s Anisha Curry made five free throws in the last 30 seconds.

Mater Dei’s Lori Hurlbut, who scored 18 points and won the three-point contest at halftime, agreed. “It was a blast,” she said. “It’s an honor just to be on this team.”