After 43 and 20-point wins in its last two games in the Orange Empire Conference, the Irvine Valley women's basketball team kept it going on Friday night at home.
The Lasers stayed in picture in the Orange Empire Conference race with a key 74-56 victory over Riverside.
Irvine Valley improved its record to 15-5 overall and 3-1 in the OEC with the win.
The Lasers, who are ranked No. 20 in the state, only trail Orange Coast in the updated conference standings.
Riverside (15-5, 2-2) was ranked No. 15 in the state this past week's poll.
But Irvine Valley was ready from the start and grabbed a 19-8 lead after the first quarter.
IVC led Riverside, 39-24, at the half.
And the Lasers out-scored the Tigers, 35-22, in the second half to pull away for the win.
The key to the game was defense and rebounding for Irvine Valley.
IVC helped Riverside shoot just 32.2 percent (19 of 59) for the game as a team.
And Irvine Valley out-rebounded the Tigers, 48-37, over 40 minutes of action.
The Lasers were led once again by freshman guard Trasara Alexander - the recent athlete of the week for the college.
She scored 25 points, added nine rebounds and had three assists in another standout performance.
Alexander has scored at least 20 points in five games on the season. Four of those have come in a row in the last four conference games.
She was one of four IVC players to score in double figures on the night Friday in the win for the Lasers.
Freshman guard Emily Freeman hit four three-pointers and contributed 14 points. Sophomore post player Giselle Martinez added 13 points, seven rebounds and five blocks and sophomore guard Kennedy Pucci chipped in 11 points, seven assists, six rebbounds and two steals.
Sophomore guard Kaila Truby also had a big game with 10 rebounds, six assists and six steals in the triumph for IVC.
Riverside was paced by Neveah Manning with 20 points and seven rebounds. And Ashley Smith and N'Dya Parks each finished with 10 points for the Tigers.
Irvine Valley plays again in another important conference match-up next Wednesday. The Lasers host No. 14 in the state Cypress at 6 p.m.
