Irvine Valley redshirt freshman women's basketball player Serena Saba will continue her education and playing career at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore.
Saba, a point guard, had an impressive 2016-17 year both on and off the court for the Lasers.
She was named the Orange Empire Conference's Fair Play Female Champion of Character Award Winner for 2016-17 and was also named second team all-conference.
The Champion of Character Award is given to the student athlete who displays the following values; sportsmanship, respect, caring, fairness, civility, honesty, integrity and responsibility shown through a specific action, ideally directed toward an opponent during competition.
The criteria also includes the action of putting the team and teammates before oneself while acting as a positive role model.
Each college in the conference nominated a male and female student-athlete.
Irvine Valley has had an overall winner in each year but one.
Saba is a two-time IVC Scholar-Athlete, three-time Dean's List honoree, and maintainied a 3.77 GPA while majoring in Psych/Pre-Med.
She graduated in the Spring with two degrees and a minor in Neuroscience and was deciding among athletic and academic offers from some of the premier liberal arts universities in the country.
On the court this past season, she was named captain by her teammates. Saba averaged 9.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game, earning her second team all-OEC honors. Saba was tied for third in scoring for IVC, led the team in assists and was second on the team in steals per game.
She also ended up ranking third in the conference in assists per game.
Saba scored double figures in eight games and topped 20 or more points three times. The former San Clemente High standout had a season-high 28 points in Irvine Valley's season finale at Riverside.
She also had a season-best 12 assists in Irvine Valley's 60-54 win at Santa Ana on Jan. 4.
Saba heads to NCAA Division 3 Lewis and Clark team that finished with a record of 16-10 overall last season. The Pioneers also went 9-7 in conference play.