WALNUT — The Orange Coast College women’s basketball team sank its first five shots during Sunday afternoon’s CCCAA championship game.

Mt. San Antonio College coach Brian Crichlow knew something had to change fast, or else the Pirates soon would be celebrating a third consecutive state title.

“We knew they could shoot,” Crichlow said, noting Orange Coast had made 30 of 60 shots from 3-point range over its first two games of the tournament. “They were starting to get comfortable again. We just wanted to run them off the 3-point line, contest every shot and disrupt them any way we could.”

Mission accomplished.

The Mounties stepped up the defensive pressure, forcing 22 turnovers and holding Orange Coast to 19.6% shooting (10 of 51) following the sizzling start. Daisia Mitchell and Taliyah McFerson registered double-doubles, as Mt. SAC pulled away for a 52-39 victory and the program’s ninth state championship.

“We’ve been preparing for this moment since the summertime,” said Mitchell, the Etiwanda High School product who had 12 points and 14 rebounds en route to being selected the MVP of the state tournament. “We’ve been talking about it and putting in the work. And this shows hard work pays off.

“Talent can only get you so far. You have to have grit, toughness, integrity, perseverance and composure. I believe we displayed all of that this year.”

McFerson scored 14 of her game-high 15 points in the first half and finished the game with 10 boards. She was chosen to the all-tournament team.

Orange Coast (27-6) made things look easy at the start, as the Pirates scored on five of their first seven possessions to carve out a 10-6 advantage.

But things turned sour. OCC missed its final nine shots of the opening period, and Mt. SAC went on an 8-0 run to take a four-point lead at the end of the quarter.

The game was knotted at 24 with 2:16 remaining to halftime, but McFerson scored the final six points of the second quarter to put the Mounties back on top.

Mt. SAC (29-4) was clinging to an eight-point lead midway through the third quarter, and that is when OCC went totally ice cold from the field. The Pirates made only 1 of 18 shots and turned the ball over fives times over a 10-minute stretch. The Mounties went on a 15-2 run to put the game out of reach.

The 39 points by OCC was a season low by 14 points and the program’s lowest output since a 49-38 loss to Glendale on Nov. 3, 2021.

“That’s just our Mt. SAC defense right there,” Mitchell said. “It’s doesn’t matter what team we’re facing. We are going to ride and die by our defense.”

Elizabeth Udeze finished the game with 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Mounties and also was chosen to the all-tournament team.

Mt. SAC went through a tough final stretch. In Saturday’s semifinal, it avenged a pair of one-point losses to College of the Sequoias.

“It’s special to do this in our gym. First time that has happened,” said Crichlow, who has guided the program to five of those nine state championships.

“We left it on the table last year, and we never forgot about that disappointment. These players knew the end destination and wound up getting there.”