Women's basketball team starts tournament at OCC with a win

Courtesy of On My Game Photography
Courtesy of On My Game Photography

Irvine Valley's women's basketball team won its sixth game in a row, beating Cerritos, 71-63, to start the Coast Christmas Classic at Orange Coast on Monday.

The Lasers improved their record to 6-1 overall and moved into the semifinals of the event on Tuesday.

Irvine Valley was down by six points midway through the first quarter, but came charging back to take a 21-17 lead by the end of the period.

Irvine Valley increased its lead in the second quarter and took a 34-28 advantage into halftime.

And IVC led by as many as 13 points midway through the third quarter before holding on for the eight-point victory.

Irvine Valley shot 40.3 percent (25 of 62) as a team from the floor and helped hold Cerritos to just 34.3 percent (23 of 67).

The Lasers out-rebounded Cerritos, 54-32, in the contest and out-scored the Falcons, 36-20, in the paint.

IVC was paced by freshman center Zoe Stachowski, who finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds. She had eight of those rebounds on the offensive end.

Sophomore forward Ryane Bradbury added 15 points, nine rebounds and two steals and freshman guards Megan Herrera and Anai Washington each finished with 12 points for the Lasers. Washington also contributed six rebounds and three assists, while Herrera had five rebounds and four assists.

Cerritos, which saw its record fall to 7-5 overall, was paced by Jesenia Rendon with 20 points.