Irvine Valley's women's basketball team opened the season with a win and a loss at the Bakersfield Crossover Tournament last weekend.
Irvine Valley, which opened the season ranked fifth in the South Region Preseason poll, defeated No. 14 and host Bakersfield, 63-44, on Friday and then fell to No. 8 Pasadena City, 75-55, on Saturday in tournament action.
Irvine Valley got off to a solid start against Bakersfield. The Lasers out-scored Bakersfield, 14-6, in the opening quarter and led, 29-19, at halftime.
IVC was up by nine points heading into the fourth quarter and then closed out the contest on a 19-9 run for the win.
Sophomore guard Tara Casey led the way with 18 points. She was 7 of 18 from the floor. Casey added five rebounds and two steals.
Sophomore forward Patricia Tidwell-McClure chipped in 13 points, sophomore forward Morgan Bryant had nine points, 12 rebounds and three steals.
And freshman forward Kydell Pearson added seven points and three rebounds in her debut for the Lasers.
Irvine Valley shot 37.9 percent from the field and held Bakersfield to 27.3 percent shooting.
The Lasers also opened well against Pasadena on Saturday, taking a 17-13 lead after the first quarter.
The game was tied, 37-37, at the half.
But the difference came in the third quarter. Pasadena City out-scored Irvine Valley, 24-8, to take a 61-45 advantage into the final quarter.
IVC ended up scoring just 18 points in the second half. The Lasers shot 18.8 percent from the field over the final two quarters.
Irvine Valley was paced by freshman forward Kasey Smit, who had a nice game with 15 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
Persons finished with 10 points and Casey had nine points.
Irvine Valley plays its first home game of the season on Tuesday, hosting San Diego Mesa at 6 p.m.
