The Irvine Valley women's basketball team earned another Orange Empire Conference win, beating Fullerton, 61-45, Friday night at home.
The Lasers used a strong close to the first half and then a spirited third quarter to pull away and beat the Hornets.
Irvine Valley, ranked No. 18 in the state, improved its record to 12-3 overall and 2-0 in conference. Fullerton's record slipped to 8-8 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
IVC went on a 10-0 run over the final 1:35 of the second quarter to take control.
Fullerton pulled within, 28-24, on a three-pointer by Hannah Jones with 3:38 to play in the half.
But a three-point play by freshman guard Anai Washington put the Lasers ahead, 31-24, with 1:35 left.
Sophomore guard Lexi Vail did the rest to close out the half.
Vail followed with basket to put IVC ahead, 33-24, with 1:08 to go.
Vail then sank a three-pointer with 29 seconds to go to make it a 36-24 game.
And she beat the halftime buzzer with a layup to put IVC in front, 38-24.
Irvine Valley used that momentum during a strong third quarter. The Lasers out-scored Fullerton, 16-9, in the third to take a 54-33 advantage.
IVC led by as many as 27 points late in the third quarter.
The Lasers shot just 36.4 percent (24-66) in the contest, but helped hold Fullerton to just 30.0 percent (18 of 60) in the game.
Irvine Valley also out-rebounded the Hornets, 50-39 and had 12 steals, which led to 23 points off of Fullerton turnovers.
Washington finished with 20 points and six rebounds for IVC. Vail had another solid game with 14 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and four steals.
Sophomore forward Ryane Bradbury added 11 points and five rebounds, freshman center Zoe Stachowski chipped in 13 rebounds and freshman guard Megan Herrera had six assists and four steals.
Fullerton was paced by Moriah Serrano, who finished with 16 points, five assists and two steals. Hannah Jones added 13 points and seven rebounds.
Irvine Valley plays again next Wednesday, hosting Saddleback at 7 p.m.
