Women's basketball team wins 20th game of year at Saddleback

Women's basketball team wins 20th game of year at Saddleback

The Irvine Valley women's basketball team won 21 games under first-year coach Jason Garey in the 2022-23 season.

Irvine Valley also went to a So. Cal. Regional Final before losing against state champion Orange Coast.

The Lasers have a chance to match that 21-win mark on Friday after defeating district rival Saddleback, 74-54, Wednesday night on the road.

IVC, ranked No. 12 in the state, improved its record to 20-7 overall and 11-2 in Orange Empire Conference play. The Lasers have secured second place in the OEC standings.

Irvine Valley jumped out to a 18-12 lead after the first quarter and led, 39-23, at the half.

IVC pushed its lead up to as many as 25 points midway through the fourth quarter at Saddleback before winning by 20 points.

Sophomore post player Makena Tomlinson led Irvine Valley with 21 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. She shot 8 of 11 from the field. Tomlinson also went 5 of 5 from the free throw line for the Lasers.

Sophomore wing player and current Irvine Valley athlete of the week Christen Ziska added 15 points and 10 rebounds and freshman guard Moka Saiki contributed 10 points for IVC.

Irvine Valley shot 52 percent (26 of 50) from the field as a team and had 17 assists on 26 made field goals.

The Lasers close out the regular season on Friday at Riverside at 6 p.m.