Irvine Valley's athlete of the week for Dec. 11 is women's basketball player Elizabeth Garcia. Garcia was named to the all-tournament team after helping the Lasers beat Long Beach City, 66-64, on Saturday in the championship game of the Irvine Valley Tournament.
The sophomore guard finished with nine points, six rebounds, five assists and one steal for the Lasers in the title game.
Garcia had the assist on freshman guard Lexi Vail's game-winning basket with eight seconds left against Long Beach City. Garcia drove up the floor after Long Beach City had taken the lead and found a streaking Vail open under the basket for a layup.
In IVC's 64-45 semifinal win over El Camino on Friday, Garcia ended with nine points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
And she opened up the tournament on Thursday with four points and two rebounds in IVC's easy 68-41 win over Southwestern.
On the season, Garcia is averaging 9.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game for the Lasers who have a record of 9-2 overall and are ranked No. 4 in Southern California and ninth in the state.
She has scored in double figures in five games with a season-high 16 points in IVC's 57-54 loss to Sequoias on Nov. 10.
Garcia recorded a season-best six assists in IVC's 88-39 win over LA Southwest on Nov. 11.
In her freshman year during the 2016-17 season, Garcia averaged 9.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.1 steals per game for IVC.
The former Orangewood Academy star scored in double figures in 13 games during the 2016-17 season with a season-best 19 points in a 70-63 win at Santa Ana.