Pirates

COSTA MESA - Caitlin Bunting played four somewhat unsung seasons on the Villa Park High varsity girls' basketball team and was recruited by a handful of community college coaches before electing to join Coach Mike Thornton this season at Orange Coast College. Just nine games into a season that was just beginning to show some promise, it appears Bunting will now watch from the sideline after a falling hard to the floor in the backcourt with 1:37 left in the Pirates' 51-42 victory over Saddleback on Saturday at OCC. Bunting's injury, which Thornton later said the training staff was almost sure was a fractured right ankle, put a damper on the hard-fought triumph in the semifinals of the Erin Tomlinson Coast Christmas Classic.

Sophomores Brandon Bauman and Jake Little, as well as freshman Jorge Sanchez, have been named first-team All-Orange Empire Conference in men's soccer. Sophomore Baji Chela and freshman Frankie Muñoz represent the Pirates on the second team. Bauman, a midfielder, had eight goals and 22 assists to help the Pirates finish 12-5-5, 7-4-3 in conference. OCC was third in the OEC and earned a berth in the Southern California Regional playoffs for the first time since 2006. Sanchez, a forward out of Costa Mea High, had a team-leading 15 goals and seven assists, while Little, a defender, had one goal and one assist.

Orange Coast College sophomores Sara Gomez, Sarah MacArthur and Caitlin Padian have been named first-team All-Orange Empire Conference in women's soccer. Sophomores Jessica Amaral and Kiley Leshin, as well as freshman Courtney Garrity represent the Pirates on the second team. Gomez, a forward, produced 20 goals and 10 assists to help the Pirates finish 18-4 and reach the second round of the Southern California Regional playoffs. MacArthur, a midfielder, had 16 goals and 11 assists as OCC achieved the most wins during Coach Kevin Smith's seven-year tenure.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Orange Coast 90, Butte 41 SAN LUIS OBISPO — Dayanara Armenta scored 18 points to lead six Pirates in double figures in the third-place game of the Cuesta tournament on Saturday. Michelle Angel and Brittany Ballard had 13 points each, followed by Jessica Johnson (11) and Jalecia Wilson (10). Wilson added nine rebounds for the Pirates (3-4), who defeated Allan Hancock, 72-36, in the first round on Thursday. OCC lost to Sierra, 74-68, in the championship semifinals on Friday.

All season long, Karlee Riggs has been a reliable force for the Orange Coast College women's volleyball team. Pasadena City College Tammy Silva would say the Pirates relied on their standout outside hitter a little too much Saturday in the second round of the California Community College Athletic Assn. Southern Regional playoffs at Orange Coast. "Wherever she was, that's where they were going," Silva said. Orange Coast's one-dimensional offense allowed the Lancers to zero in on Riggs, as the rest of the Pirates couldn't keep the visitors honest.

ORANGE — In a sport that can defy dominance, Santiago Canyon College consistently dribbles out of the fray of misfortune that can doom even the most superior of women's soccer squads. The Hawks have won the last nine Orange Empire Conference titles and, during that stretch, have added two state crowns and a pair of state runner-up finishes. All the while, they have compiled a 194-11-15 record for a pristine winning percentage of .916. Yet, as the scoreless moments stretched on in the second-round game of the California Community College Athletic Assn.

COSTA MESA - It takes a village to run Orange Coast College men's basketball coach Steve Spencer's system, but it was the Pirates ability to be productive from the suburbs that was perhaps the difference Friday night. OCC connected on six of eight three-point shots in the second half to break open a tight game and claim a 79-61 nonconference win over visiting Los Angeles Harbor. It was the first win in three games this season for OCC, which used three three-pointers during a 16-0 run that turned a 44-43 deficit into a 59-44 cushion over a span of a just less than four minutes.

COSTA MESA - The rowdy crowd inside the Peterson Gym wasn't enough to carry the Orange Coast College women's volleyball team over the hump on Wednesday night. Golden West spread the offense around and won the Orange Empire Conference title with a 25-21, 25-21, 25-23 win over the host Pirates. Alyssa Hubbard led the Rustlers (19-3, 13-1 in conference) with 12 kills, while Bethanee Boggs added 10 and Alicia Utke chipped in nine. For the Pirates (18-2, 12-2), Karlee Riggs led the way with 21 kills and six digs, but no other hitter was a factor in the offense.

Orange Coast College sophomore outside linebacker Nick Cody is the team's lone first-team All-Southern Conference performer, topping eight Pirates who were recognized by conference football coaches. Cody, who earned second-team recognition as a freshman middle linebacker, had a team-best 98 tackles this season, including 50 solo stops, 13.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. Sophomore tailback Robert Penny, who rushed for 827 yards on 191 carries and scored 10 of his 11 touchdowns on the ground, was a second-team choice for the second time.