Pirates open season with losses at Mission College Tournament

The 2018-19 Porterville College women's basketball season got off to a rocky start as the Pirates suffered a pair of losses at the Mission College Tournament in Santa Clara. On Friday, PC lost to the host Saints by a final score of 101-57 and closed the weekend on Saturday with a 65-46 setback to Los Angeles Harbor College.

Mission 101, Porterville 57
Porterville couldn't keep up with Mission's fast pace on offense and was nearly doubled up. The Pirates made 22 of 51 shots from the field while Mission put up a blistering 102 field goal attempts, converting 42 of them.

Mission was up 60-26 at halftime and the Pirates never threatened.

Freshman Mariah Hernandez had a solid debut for PC as she led the Pirates with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 6 steals, and 3 assists. Sophomore Kathy Rodriguez also put up good numbers with 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals.

LA Harbor 65, Porterville 46
After a solid first quarter, the Pirates went cold in the second and went into halftime trailing 36-17. The deficit was too large to overcome and the Pirates came home from the tourney still in search of their first win.

Hernandez was impressive once again in the loss. She posted a team-high 19 points to go along with 7 rebounds, and 7 steals. Rodriguez gabbed a team-best 8 rebounds and scored 7 points while sophomore Kassy Cervantes added 6 points and 5 boards.

Porterville (0-2) returns to action on Thursday (Nov. 8) when the Pirates open the Merced College Tournament against Cypress College at 5 p.m.