TOUGH LOSS AGAINST ORANGE COAST

The Hornets showed toughness and determination on the road Tuesday night battling No. 14 Orange Coast College before coming up short in a 54-43 loss to the Pirates.

FC stayed within striking distance throughout the contest trailing 37-26 heading into the fourth quarter but could not swing the game in their favor matching the Pirates in the final frame 17-17.

The loss puts the Hornets at 13-14 overall and 5-6 in the Orange Empire Conference standings, while the Pirate win pushes the team to 19-8 overall and 7-4 in the OEC.

Fullerton struggled to find a rhythm from the field shooting 26.3 percent overall (15-57) but remained efficient at the foul line converting 10-11 attempts. Meanwhile, Orange Coast used its size inside to control the boards outrebounding FC 51-35 scoring 16 second-chance points.

Defensively, the Hornets forced 12 turnovers and stayed competitive with disciplined ball control of their own matching the Pirates with 12 turnovers apiece. FC held OCC shooting to just 10% from three-point range, however the Orange Coast took advantage in the paint outscoring Fullerton 28-16 netting 26 points from their bench to help create separation late in the game.

Erin Choi was the only scoring threat for FC as she dropped in a game-high 21 points, while adding 6 assists 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. Haliey Lakey and Jaylene Perez followed with 6 points apiece. Lakey also pulled down 10 rebounds.

Up Next: Fullerton (13-14, 5-6 OEC) will look to regroup when they take on No. 7 Irvine Valley College this Friday, February 20^th when the Lasers come to the Hornets Nest for a big game with playoff implications.