Irvine Valley's women's basketball team didn't play its best, but still came away with a win on Friday night in a semifinal game of the Irvine Valley Tournament.
The Lasers defeated Rio Hondo, 54-48, to advance to the championship on Saturday at 4 p.m.
IVC are trying to win the tournament for the second year in a row.
The Lasers will take on one of the top-ranked teams in the state, Long Beach City, in the title game Saturday.
On Friday, IVC shot just 32.1 percent (18 of 56) from the field and 25.0 percent (4 of 16) on three-pointers. The Lasers were also out-rebounded, 44-40, and committed 29 fouls, but still managed the win.
Sophomore forward De'Jerre Scurry and freshman forward Kydell Pearson led Irvine Valley.
Scurry had 13 points and four rebounds, while Pearson finished with 12 points. Sophomore guard Tara Casey added 10 points, freshman forward Jada Haynes had eight points and five rebounds and sophomore guard Erika Mercado contributed six points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Irvine Valley was down early, but managed to hold a 16-8 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Lasers were up, 23-16, at the half.
IVC pushed the game out of reach in the fourth quarter.
The Lasers took their largest lead at 47-32 on a layup by Pearson with 4:19 to play. Two free throws by Mercado gave IVC a 51-36 advantage with 2:14 to go.
Two more free throws by Mercado in the final seconds sealed the win.
Justine Manjarrez sank a three-pointer at the buzzer for the final score.
Danna Robles finished with 15 points and seven rebounds to lead the Roadrunners. Manjarrez added 12 points, Ashley Rendon chipped in seven points and Bianca Garcia had 10 rebounds.
Rio Hondo shot only 29.8 percent (14 of 47) from the field as a team. The Roadrunners were also just 17 of 32 (53.1 percent) from the free throw line.
Rio Hondo's record fell to 2-7 on the year. It will play Riverside in the third-place game on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Irvine Valley, ranked 15th in the state and sixth in Southern California, improved to 7-2 and will take on a Long Beach City, which is ranked fifth in the state and third in Southern California. The Vikings crushed Riverside, 88-49, earlier on Friday to move on.
Irvine Valley and Long Beach City met for the title in 2012 with the Vikings prevailing, 54-43.
This will be Long Beach City's third appearance in a Irvine Valley Tournament title game in the last four years.
Irvine Valley defeated Pasadena City, 84-66, to win the title in 2014.
Irvine Valley Women's Tournament Second Day Scores
El Camino def. Chaffey, 53-48
Grossmont def. El Camino-Compton, 60-43
Long Beach City def. Riverside, 88-49
Irvine Valley def. Rio Hondo, 54-48
Third Day (Dec. 12) Schedule
El Camino vs. Grossmont at 12 p.m. (Consolation Final)
Riverside vs. Rio Hondo at 2 p.m. (Third-place Game)
Long Beach City vs. Irvine Valley at 4 p.m. (Championship Game)
