The Irvine Valley women's basketball team stayed within striking distance of the top two teams in the Orange Empire Conference with another big win over Golden West on Wednesday.
The Lasers, ranked No. 17 in the state, defeated the Rustlers by 43 points for the second time in conference play, winning 86-43, on the road.
IVC took down Golden West, 84-41, at home on Jan. 6.
Irvine Valley improved its record to 17-7 overall and 5-3 in conference with the latest victory.
The game was over from the start with IVC out-scoring the Rustlers, 29-8, in the first quarter.
Irvine Valley scored the first 16 points of the game, taking a 16-0 lead on a layup by sophomore guard Kaila Truby with 3:09 left in the quarter.
The Lasers shot an impressive 66.7 percent (10 of 15) from the field as a team, went 4 of 6 from three point range and hit all five of their free throws.
The lead just increased after that.
IVC was ahead, 51-17, at the half, and had a 67-26 advantage after three quarters of play.
Freshman point guard Trasara Alexander starred again for the Lasers.
She finished with 17 points (going 7 of 11 from the field) and added eight rebounds and three steals.
Alexander was one of four players in double figures scoring.
Truby, freshman guard Emily Freeman and freshman wing Christen Ziska each contributed 12 points on the night. Truby also had five rebounds and five assists, Freeman knocked down four three-pointers and Ziska made three three-pointers and had four rebounds.
Irvine Valley plays again in conference action on Friday, hosting Santa Ana at 6 p.m. It is Coaches vs. Cancer night with donations being accepted to the American Cancer Society, Inc.
More details and a preview of the event will be released on Thursday.
