SANTA ANA - The Dons fell to Orange Coast College 77-57 after being out-rebounded by the Pirates 55-33. That rebounding edge gave the Pirates 29 second chance points as well as 24 points in the paint.
In the first half, the Pirates (12-14, 3-7) used a late run to establish a 13-point lead at the half. The Dons (9-17, 1-9) had jumped out to an early 11-2 lead behind two three-pointers by Kelly Smit and another by Liliana Gonzalez. Carly Ducat opened scoring with a layup in the first minute.
The Dons continued to hold the lead through the first 17 minutes of the game. It wasn't until the 2:53 mark when Dayanara Armenta hit a three-pointer, giving the Pirates a 30-28 lead. From there, Coast closed out the half on a 13-2 run to establish the 43-30 lead.
The Pirates continued to hold that lead through the second half but the Dons were able to cut the lead to just six at 50-44 on an Ashley Whisler layup with 12:32 left in the game. But the Pirates answered with another 13-2 run to give them a 17-point lead at 63-46, before going on to take the game 77-57.
Ducat finished as the only Don scorer in double digits with 21 points while Coast had three players in double digits, led by Jenna Arnett with 27. Caitlin Bunting added 14 points while Armenta followed with 13 points.
The Dons hit the road for their next game when they travel to Riverside City College on February 13.