KENTFIELD — The women’s basketball team used inspired defense and deadly outside shooting to sink the College of Marin (1-22 overall and 0-14 in the Bay Valley Conference) 71-44 here on Friday night.

In a BVC game where each team played with only five players, the quality of play was not the best, but Contra Costa College (13-12 overall and 8-5 in the BVC) exerted its dominance on defense to suffocate the Mariners for the majority of the contest.

“I think this was the best and most complete game we have played all year,” coach Vincent Shaw said. “The way they played hard defense from start to finish was great,”

Even though his team is unlikely to get a playoff spot, Shaw was very happy with his team’s performance.

The Comets will play their final game of the season game against Merritt College in Oakland on Friday at 5:30 p.m.

In the first quarter of the game the tempo was slow, with a high number of turnovers and fouls committed against CCC.

“One of the disadvantages of only suiting up five players is that you have to play smart defense because if you make a few mistakes you can foul out,” freshman guard Dierra Mize said. In the second quarter, the Comet defense stepped it up and only allowed the Mariners to score eight points.

The 3-pointers started to rain for CCC before the first half ended, as freshman guards Victoria Lopez, Azanae Lewis and Mize all contributed from beyond the arc.

“What I think stalled our offense was that we were trying too hard in the beginning and missed a few easy buckets here and there,” Shaw said of his teams’ first half offensive inconsistencies.

Shaw also said that if those small mistakes were avoided the margin of victory could have been larger.

Mariner coach Tannea Nelson said, “I think CCC played very well and very smart. They were efficient on the free throw line all night and didn’t commit dumb fouls.”

The Mariner offense came alive in the third quarter thanks to the help of freshman forward Amari Allison.

The freshman led Marin in scoring, totaling 18 points for the game.

The Comet offense continued to show great form following its end-of-the second quarter shooting spree.

“We were pressing a little bit as far as wanting to put them away and then we finally relaxed and were able to let the game come to us,” Shaw said.

The worn-out Mariner squad failed to compete in the fourth quarter. The team only scored seven points and were forced to play with only four players after a Mariner fouled out of the game.

“We did a beautiful job on the free throw line tonight. That’s what winning basketball looks like. The biggest concern for us was the potential foul trouble we could get into  with only five players for the game,” Shaw said. “They played really smart and they should be really proud of themselves.”

Mize said that the Mariner forwards did give the team some problems but that CCC adapted well and took control of the game.

“I think we started off pretty slow, we did not get a good warmup and we were not focused,” Mize said. “We knew going into the second half that the score was still close, so we came out and played hard.”

Overall, the game was very sloppy for nearly the entire first half due to poorly taken shots and too many unforced turnovers.

After the five-minute mark of the second quarter, when both teams were fully engaged in the competition, scoring opportunities came at a much faster pace.

CCC’s defense played well throughout the game and was the determining factor in the outcome.

CCC currently sits in fourth place in the BVC standings with an 8-5 record behind Merritt, Laney College and c, and they will not have a chance to compete for the league title or state playoffs.