Irvine Valley's women's basketball team gave fifth-ranked in the state Long Beach City a battle, but the Lasers couldn't come out on top.
Long Beach City, which is also ranked third in Southern California, defeated the Lasers, 46-40, in the championship game of the Irvine Valley Tournament on Saturday.
Irvine Valley was trying to win its second tournament title in a row.
Long Beach City improved its record to 9-1 on the season. Irvine Valley, which was ranked 15th in the state and sixth in the region, saw its record drop to 7-3 overall.
Christiana Layne, who scored six points to go along with 12 rebounds and three blocks was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Long Beach City's Paris Lucci was selected to the all-tournament team. Irvine Valley's selection on the all-tourney team was sophomore guard Jordan Coleman.
The Vikings led by as many as 12 points in the second quarter and took a 24-18 lead into halftime.
Irvine Valley trailed, 36-27, going into the fourth quarter, but got within four points at 42-38 with 1:55 left in the game on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Tara Casey.
A layup by Lupe Cruz put Long Beach City ahead, 46-40. Sophomore forward Morgan Bryant answered with a layup to get IVC within 44-40 with 1:09 to play.
The Lasers got the ball back after a Long Beach City turnover.
Coleman drove to the basket for the Lasers, but her attempt was blocked by Layne, who also corralled the defensive rebound.
Cruz then made a basket soon after to give Long Beach City some breathing room at 46-40 with 30 seconds to play.
Neither team scored over those final 30 seconds.
Sopavy Seng added 11 points and three steals and Cruz had 10 points and nine rebounds for Long Beach City. Ayerjenee Jeanmard also chipped in six points and eight rebounds.
Long Beach City shot 38.5 percent (20 of 52) for the game from the field. The Vikings made just one three-point attempt, going 1 for 11.
Irvine Valley shot only 27.8 percent (15 of 54) from the floor. The Lasers went 3 of 16 (18.8 percent) from three-point range and 7 of 15 (46.7 percent) from the free throw line.
Irvine Valley got 13 points and 7 rebounds from Casey in 39 minutes.
Sophomore forward De'Jerre Scurry had nine points, six rebounds, three blocks and three steals. Bryant finished with seven points and five rebounds and Coleman added seven points, five rebounds and two steals in almost 40 minutes of action.
Irvine Valley will play again on Thursday in the Coast Christmas Classic at Orange Coast College. The Lasers take on Canyons at 3 p.m.
Final Day (Dec. 12) Irvine Valley Women's Tournament Scores
Long Beach City def. Irvine Valley, 46-40 (Championship Game)
Rio Hondo def. Riverside, 65-61 (Third-place Game)
El Camino def. Grossmont, 60-50 (Consolation Final)
All-Tournament Team
MVP - Christiana Layne - Long Beach City
Paris Lucci - Long Beach City
Jordan Coleman - Irvine Valley
Danna Robles - Rio Hondo
Chyna Burris - Riverside
Michelle Sroczynski - El Camino
Jazmine Bradley - Grossmont
