The Irvine Valley women's basketball is back in the race in the Orange Empire Conference.
The Lasers, ranked No. 19 in the state, defeated Santa Ana, 73-53, on the road Wednesday night.
Santa Ana scored the first three points of the game, but the Lasers led the rest of the way after a three-pointer by freshman point guard Trasara Alexander with 6:16 left in the first quarter.
IVC led, 21-10, at the end of the first quarter and was up, 42-24, at the half.
Irvine Valley shot 42.9 percent (24-56) from the field as a team and was led in scoring by Alexander with 21 points. She added nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Alexander was one of four IVC players to score in double figures.
Sophomore post Giselle Martinez had another solid game with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
IVC freshman guard Emily Freeman contributed 13 points and sophomore guard Kennedy Pucci added 10 points, four rebounds and six assists in the win for the Lasers.
Irvine Valley plays again on Friday, taking on Riverside at 5 p.m. in conference action.
