SF Crystal McCormick scored 46 points, including 10 threes, and PF Jillian Ricks added 16, including 4 in the final overtime period as #2 Orange Coast (23-2, 7-0) squeezed out an 87-84 victory over host Fullerton (8-16, 4-3) in a five-overtime marathon Wednesday night.
Early on, Orange Coast jumped out to a 14-2 lead and it looked like the game’s outcome might be decided early. But that was not the case. The Hornets righted themselves, gradually cut into the deficit. A pair of baskets by Ctr Kaitlin Kilroy cut the lead to 5 at 22-17. And they reduced the Pirate lead to 2 at 30-28 just before halftime before going into intermission trailing by 6 at 34-28. And then the Hornets continued to chip away at the deficit, finally tying the game at 46 midway through the second half.
And yet, that was only the beginning. Unbeknownst to players and spectators alike, though the clock showed just over 10 minutes left, there were really over 35 minutes left to be played before a winner would be declared.
Fullerton took its first lead after a three by PG Ashley Broughton with just over 8 minutes left, making it 49-48. But McCormick then rallied the Pirates, putting OCC back in front with a pair of free throws with 5:29 left, making it 52-51. A McCormick three made it 55-51. PF Megan Lenn and SG Miriam Baeza scored for Fullerton to tie the score at 55, but then McCormick made another three to make it 58-55 with 1:15 remaining.
Then came a flurry of scoring that sent the game in overtime. Baeza answered that three with one of her own to tie the game at 58. Then McCormick scored on a 10-foot jumper after an offensive rebound to put Orange Coast ahead, 60-58. But Fullerton’s Broughton answered back with a driving lay-up with 10 seconds left that tied the score and sent the game to overtime.
In the first overtime, McCormick made a pair of free throws to make it 62-60, but SG Cristina Figueroa answered back with a short jumper to tie the game again at 62. Then SG Melanie Whitney drained a three to put Fullerton ahead, 65-62. But Ricks answered back with a three of her own for the Pirates, tying the game at 65. Then McCormick fed Ctr Madison Parks for a basket that put the Pirates ahead, 67-65 with 50.2 seconds remaining. But Fullerton tied the game when Broughton scored on a hook shot with 9.3 seconds left. Broughton also drew a foul on the play, but missed the free throw and when McCormick missed a shot from the corner just before the buzzer, the game went to a second overtime.
In the second overtime, McCormick drained a three to give OCC a 70-67 lead with 3:20 left. But Fullerton scored the next 4 points to take the lead; Whitney scored on a 1-handed shot to make it 70-69, and Broughton fed PF Sarah Hoffman for a lay-up to make it 71-70 with just over 2 minutes left. Orange Coast tied the score when Ricks was fouled with 1:41 left and made one of two free throws. Then, as fatigue began to set it, neither team scored again in the second OT. Broughton had the best opportunity when she grabbed a steal with 50 seconds left and went in for a contested lay-up, but she missed the shot and Hoffman missed on a putback attempt so the game remained tied and went to a third overtime.
In overtime #3, McCormick again staked Orange Coast to a lead with a three that made it 74-71. But Fullerton again rallied to take the lead after a basket by Baeza and a pair of free throws by Hoffman, making it 75-74. Then McCormick drained yet another three to put OCC back ahead, 77-75. But Hoffman scored on a putback to tie the game once again, making it 77-77. And when Baeza’s shot at the horn missed, it was off to overtime #4.
In the fourth overtime, Parks made one of two free throws to put OCC ahead, 78-77, but then Broughton scored on a putback of a Hoffman miss to give Fullerton a 79-78 edge. Then came still another three from McCormick, putting Orange Coast back in front, 81-79 with 1:20 left. But Fullerton rallied yet again, tying the score on a basket by Hoffman on a feed from Baeza with 32 seconds left, making it 81-81. Orange Coast had one last chance to win it in this overtime period, but a McCormick turnover with 2.3 seconds left meant the game would head to overtime number five.
Finally, in the fifth overtime, Orange Coast built a lead large enough to withstand another Fullerton comeback. McCormick made a pair of free throws to make it 83-81 with 3:08 left. Then Ricks scored after a nice feed from SG Valerie Katayama, who had actually moved to the point after PG Teeya Fernandez had left the game after taking an elbow to the forehead. Fullerton cut the lead to 3 when Kilroy made one of two free throws, making it 85-82, but then Ricks made a pair of free throws to push Orange Coast’s lead to 5 at 87-82.
And this time, the two-possession lead would prove to be too much for Fullerton to overcome. Broughton scored on a lay-up with 8.7 seconds left, but that was the Hornets’ final score. After the Pirates inbounded the ball following the basket, Fullerton was unable to foul – either they were too tired to catch the Pirate with the ball, or the officials were too tired to blow the whistle – and the clock finally ran out putting an end to it all.
For Orange Coast, McCormick had a remarkable night, scoring 46 points on 13-of-24 shooting including 10 threes. She also had 5 rebs, 5 asts and 5 steals. Ricks had a double-double with 16 pts and 10 rebs, and she also had 3 blocks. Parks had 9 pts, 9 rebs and 4 blocks. Katayama had 2 pts and a game-high 7 asts while Fernandez finished with 6 pts and 6 asts.
For Fullerton, Hoffman led the way with 22 pts and 16 rebs. Broughton added 14 pts, 7 rebs and 6 asts while Kilroy came off the bench to add 14 pts and 6 boards. Whitney also came off the bench, contributing 11 pts and 3 steals for the Hornets.
Regardless of who won, it was an amazing game by two excellent teams. And it was the longest game I’ve ever seen (the previous mark was 4 OTs, held by Chaffey and LA City (mens) in 2001 and tied in the LA Pro City summer league last August). Plus, I figure to remember this game for a long time, which is something of a feat as it came just three days after I watched Kobe Bryant score 81 points in a game for the Lakers.
box score
Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - 7:30 pm
at The Hornets' Nest, Fullerton
Orange Empire Conference
Womens game
Orange Coast Pirates 87:
11-Teeya Fernandez, PG - 3/10 fg, 4 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 1 pf, 6 pts
14-Valerie Katayama, SG - 0/4 fg, 2/5 ft, 3 reb, 7 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 4 pf, 2 pts
20-Crystal McCormick, SF - 13/24 fg, 10/10 ft, 5 reb, 5 ast, 5 stl, 2 pf, 46 pts
32-Jillian Ricks, PF - 4/15 fg, 7/8 ft, 10 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 16 pts
33-Madison Parks, C - 2/3 fg, 5/6 ft, 9 reb, 1 ast, 4 blk, 2 stl, 2 pf, 9 pts
22-Kristen Cabral, F - 2/3 fg, 3 reb, 1 stl, 3 pf, 4 pts
15-Devin Hundley, G - 0/6 fg, 2/2 ft, 4 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 1 pf, 2 pts
24-Nancy Castro, F - 1/2 fg, 2 reb, 1 pf, 2 pts
25-Meghan Maxwell, F - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 25/68 fg (.368), 26/31 ft (.839), 46 reb, 24 ast, 8 blk, 17 stl, 18 pf, 87 pts
3-pt fg (11): McCormick 10, Ricks
Turnovers (30): McCormick 6, Ricks 6, Katayama 4, Parks 4, Maxwell 3, Cabral 2, Fernandez, Hundley, team 3
Fullerton Hornets 84:
5-Ashley Broughton, PG - 7/12 fg, 0/1 ft, 7 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 14 pts
21-Nae Greenhaigh, SF - 2/4 fg, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 4 pts
33-Lena Waltz, SG - 0/1 fg, 5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 0 pts
40-Sina Leomiti, C - 0/2 fg, 2/2 ft, 4 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 5 pf, 2 pts
54-Sarah Hoffman, PF - 8/21 fg, 6/8 ft, 16 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 3 pf, 22 pts
4-Miriam Baeza, G - 3/9 fg, 3 reb, 3 sat, 1 blk, 1 stl, 4 pf, 7 pts
23-Joy Saleapaga, G - 1/4 fg, 5 reb, 2 ast, 3 pts
52-Caitlin Kilroy, C - 5/9 fg, 4/6 ft, 6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 14 pts
1-Cristina Figueroa, G - 2/9 fg, 1/2 ft, 4 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 3 pf, 5 pts
13-Melanie Whitney, G - 5/14 fg, 0/1 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 3 pf, 11 pts
14-Megan Lenn, F - 1/3 fg, 1 reb, 2 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 34/88 fg (.386), 13/20 ft (.650), 59 reb, 23 ast, 4 blk, 11 stl, 26 pf, 84 pts
3-pt fg (3): Baeza, Saleapaga, Whitney
Fouled Out: Leomiti 1:41 left in OT #2
Turnovers (35): Baeza 6, Figueroa 5, Broughton 4, Waltz 4, Kilroy 4, Greenhaigh 3, Saleapaga 3, Leomiti 2, Hoffman 2, Whitney 2
Halftime Score: Orange Coast 34, Fullerton 28
End of Regulation: Tied at 60
End of 1st Overtime: Tied at 67
End of 2nd Overtime: Tied at 71
End of 3rd Overtime: Tied at 77
End of 4th Overtime: Tied at 81
Updated Records: Orange Coast 23-2 (7-0 in OEC), Fullerton 8-16 (4-3 in OEC)
