Pirates suffer deja eew

COSTA MESA — “What the hell else could happen?”

That was Coach Mike Thornton’s incredulous reaction after Shakira Autry drained a shot clock-beating three pointer from half court Saturday night. It was the opening score of the game.

Right then, Orange Coast College sophomore guard Courtney Ford said she knew: “It’s going to be a long night.” It was going to be a long night regardless without starting sophomore point guard Rachel Maulit, who was diagnosed with mononucleosis Friday.

Her absence was too much. Antelope Valley, the No. 17 seed in the Southern California regional playoffs upset No. 1 Orange Coast, 73-63. Without the most vital piece of the team’s full-court press, the Pirates (29-4) struggled to pressure the Marauders (21-13) on defense. By the end of the night, Antelope Valley sunk two more clock-beaters, including another three-pointer in the second half from Autry, who had to be wheeled out of the gym by paramedics after dislocating her right elbow.

“I’ve never seen that before,” Thornton said of the eight points the Marauders had from clock-defying shots. “Not personally. I mean, I’ve seen it on TV, on ESPN SportsCenter and stuff, but it never happened to us.” The Pirates adjusted on the fly with two days of practice to have Ford, the two-time Orange Empire Conference MVP, and sophomore Katie Kissee run the offense.

Maulit was initially treated for strep throat Tuesday with an antibiotic shot, but when she was still ill Thursday, Thornton knew it was probably mononucleosis. “I don’t want to make excuses or anything like that, but for what she gives us, Rachel, in my opinion, is the best point guard in the state,” Thornton said. “There isn’t anybody who could give more to us than she does. I thought we played hard, and we did as good as we can, but that was a real difficult thing to overcome.

“She’s the foundation of our defense and the foundation of our motion offense.”After the game, Thornton walked back to the locker room, his arm around the two-time all-conference point guard. “It’s not your fault,” he said. “It’s not your fault.” But she was inconsolable.

The situation and the outcome were all too familiar for Maulit. Last season, the Pirates went 28-3 in the regular season, won the Orange Empire Conference title and had the No. 4 seed in the playoffs. They lost, 61-59 in the second round to No. 13 San Bernardino Valley, snapping a 17-game winning streak. Maulit was sick, and she watched helplessly from the bench during that game, too.

Maulit was barely audible Saturday, and her lymph nodes were visibly swollen. “It’s hard to think that it’s not my fault,” she said. “But I can’t think that. I didn’t count on getting sick.” The Pirates took the lead once at 43-42 early in the second half only to have it wrenched right back. They had a chance to take control after Autry exited with 9:22 left to play. Autry, who had 22 points, four assists, and one steal in 26 minutes, went down howling in pain after fouling Simone Ibbotson as she went up for a lay-up. Antelope Valley led, 56-50.

Coach John Taylor called for the horrified Marauders to come to the bench as they stood around Autry in shock. He tried to get them to maintain focus. Sophomore forward Autumn Arlington walked back with her teammates, shaking and repeating, “Oh, God. Oh, God.” “That’s my best friend,” she explained after the Marauders shut out the Pirates for the last minute and 57 seconds of the game, tears still pouring down her cheeks.

When play resumed, Ibbotson made the first shot, but missed the second. Ford was two for two after a foul by Jonita Walton, and it was 53-56. On Orange Coast’s next possession, Ford, who was nine of 25 for 27 points, took a cross-court pass from Kissee for a layup.

For the Marauders, 56-55 was too close and not at all comfortable. Antelope Valley went on an 11-3 run to widen the lead to seven, and held on to the lead as Orange Coast started fouling to stop the clock. “As soon as I saw her go down, I started crying,” Arlington said. “I was like, ‘Autumn, get it together.’ Honestly, I’m the motivator of the team ... I tried to pull myself together, and once I’m back up, everyone gets up. We got out of focus, and we were like, ‘Shakira wants this more than anything, so we’ve got to do it for Shakira now.’”

In 19 years of coaching at Orange Coast, Thornton said Saturday was the worst loss he’s endured. “This is the best group of sophomores we’ve ever had in terms of their competitiveness, in their leadership, their work ethic,” Thornton said. “It’s just sad to see it end this way. I mean, they deserved a better fate.”

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