Orange Empire Conference play doesn't start for another few weeks, but Irvine Valley's women's basketball scored a big win over conference rival Saddleback Thursday night.
The Lasers defeated the Gauchos, 56-43, in the semifinals of the Erin Tomlinson Coast Classic at Orange Coast.
The Lasers trailed by two points at halftime, but came back for the double-digit win.
They held Saddleback to just 20 points in the second half. IVC helped hold the Gauchos to just 21.8 percent (12 of 55) shooting for the game.
Irvine Valley improved its record to 9-4 overall and will play in the championship game on Friday at 7:30 p.m. against Chaffey, which is ranked No. 14 in the state. Chaffey beat Cuesta, 91-61.
In the win over Saddleback, IVC got 15 points, 16 rebounds and five assists from freshman forward Alexis Casillas, 15 points and nine rebounds from sophomore guard Kiara King and 14 points from sophomore forward Taylor Casey.
Sophomore guard Jasmine Kennon added seven points and seven rebounds for the Lasers.
Irvine Valley out-rebounded Saddleback, 55-41, in the contest and, 22-13, on the offensive end.
For the Gauchos, Shannon Abdulla had 17 points, while Whitney Braeutigam added 10.
