Irvine Valley's women's basketball team out-scored Santa Barbara City by 10 points in the fourth quarter and rallied for a 59-53 win over the Vaqueros in its 2016-17 opener on Saturday night in Hart Gym.
The Lasers, who are ranked No. 10 in the South Region Preseason Poll, got a balanced effort with freshman guard Serena Saba leading the way with 15 points, six assists and six steals in a team-high 37 minutes.
Freshman forward Kiara Warren added 14 points, six rebounds and three steals also in 37 minutes.
Freshman point guard Elizabeth Garcia added 10 points, four rebounds, six assists and three steals, sophomore forward Kydell Pearson had nine points and nine rebounds and sophomore guard Aaleah Brown chipped in eight points and three assists.
Irvine Valley started slow, but picked up its offense throughout and ended up shooting 40.0 percent (24 of 60) from the field as a team.
Santa Barbara City, which scored the first nine points of the contest, shot just 33.3 percent (19 of 57) for the game.
The Vaqueros also hurt themselves with 28 turnovers in the game.
Santa Barbara City was paced by Destinee King, who had 14 points, 16 rebounds and one blocks.
Stella Dullay finished with 11 points and three steals, Alyssa Coslo added 10 points and Jocelin Petatan ended with seven points, eight rebounds and three steals.
Irvine Valley trailed, 15-8, at the end of the first quarter and was down by as many as 14 points in the second quarter.
A three-pointer by Morgan Glove gave Santa Barbara City a 23-9 lead with 7:24 left in the first half.
But Irvine Valley out-scored Santa Barbara City, 16-6, the rest of the second quarter to make it a game.
Warren had six points and Saba had five points in the second quarter to get IVC back into it.
But the Lasers were still behind, 44-40, heading into the final period.
Santa Barbara City took a 48-42 lead after a layup by Destinee King with 8:09 to play.
Irvine Valley then went on a 12-point run to take control.
Saba made a layup off an assist from Brown and Brown then scored three baskets in a row, capped by a layup off an assist from Garcia to give Irvine Valley a 50-48 advantage with 5:40 to play.
A layup by Warren and then a basket inside by Pearson put IVC ahead, 54-48, with 4:19 to play.
Santa Barbara City never got closer than four points the rest of the way.
IVC took its biggest lead at, 58-50, on a basket by Warren with 42 seconds to go.
Irvine Valley, which is coming off two straight Southern California Playoff Regional final appearances, plays again next Thursday at home. The Lasers will take on San Diego City at 6 p.m.
