Women's basketball team falls to Orange Coast in 3rd-place tilt

Courtesy of On My Game Photography
Courtesy of On My Game Photography

Irvine Valley's women's basketball team finished with a record of 1-2 in its own Irvine Valley Tournament.

The Lasers ended the tourney with a 72-60 loss to Orange Coast on Saturday afternoon in the third-place game.

IVC defeated Compton, 60-38, in its first game on Thursday and then lost to eventual tournament champion El Camino, 63-46, on Friday night.

With the loss to Orange Coast, Irvine Valley's record slipped to 5-5 overall.

Irvine Valley came out strong and took a 12-6 lead with 5:46 left in the first quarter on a layup by sophomore guard Aaleah Brown.

But by the time the first quarter ended, the two teams were tied, 17-17.

And but the Pirates broke the game open in the second and third quarters.

Orange Coast out-scored IVC, 22-13, in the second quarter to take a 39-30 lead into the half.

Orange Coast then scored the first five points of the third quarter on two free throws by Sarah Nunes and then a three-pointer by Nunes to make it a 14-point game.

OCC led, 58-45, at the end of the third quarter after a layup by Megan Lewis.

The Pirates were up by as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter.

Orange Coast, which improved its record to 8-4, shot the ball well from distance in the win, connecting on 14 of 34 three pointers (41.2 percent).

Michelle Wu was 5 of 7 from three-point range and finished with a team-high 17 points for OCC.

Jenna Miramontez was 4 of 6 from distance and added 12 points. Sydney Diggs was Orange Coast's third player in double digits with 10 points.

Point guard Chyann Pendergrass was named to the all-tournament team for the Pirates. She had six points, six rebounds, 10 assists and two steals in the contest.

Irvine Valley was led by sophomore forward and all-tournament selection Kydell Pearson, who had 22 points and seven rebounds.

Brown finished with 15 points and five rebounds and freshman guard Chasity Paopao had 10 points and four rebounds. Freshman forward Kiara Warren chipped in six points and 10 rebounds for IVC.

Irvine Valley won't play again until Monday, Dec. 19 when it takes part in the Orange Coast Christmas Classic. The Lasers open against Palomar, which was ranked sixth in the state and fourth in Southern California this week.

Irvine Valley Tournament Final Day Results

El Camino def. Long Beach, 55-42 - championship

Orange Coast def. Rio Hondo, 72-60 - third-place game

Riverside def. Rio Hondo, 70-59, consolation final

All-Tournament Team

MVP - Meghan Peneuta - El Camino

Kayla Bibb - El Camino

Ayerjenee Jeanmard - Long Beach City

Chyann Pendergrass - Orange Coast

Kydell Pearson - Irvine Valley

Madeline Morrow - Riverside