The Irvine Valley women's basketball team gets another shot at a big Orange Empire Conference rival.
The Lasers take on Orange Coast Saturday night at OCC in a California Community College Athletic Association SoCal Regional Final at 7 p.m.
OCC, seeded No. 1 in the SoCal bracket, has a record of 28-1 overall. The Lasers are seeded eighth and go into the contest at 21-8.
Irvine Valley dropped both games to the Pirates during conference play, but they were close and the Jan. 4 game (57-53 win by Coast) at IVC went down to the wire.
The OEC was tough at the top of the standings this season and it has shown in the playoffs with four conference teams making a regional final (Orange Coast, Cypress, Irvine Valley and Riverside).
Orange Coast hasn't been defeated since it dropped a five-point game to Santa Ana on Jan. 20.
OCC has played some of its best basketball of the season in the last several weeks, though.
The Pirates' top players - Meghan McIntyre (19.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, 7.4 assists/game), Karina Cabrera (15.4 points), Annie Trinh (12.6 points), Gabby Samiy (12.1 points, 6.9 rebounds/game) and Savannah Seller (6.7 points, 9.1 rebounds/game) have been solid, including last week's 87-62 playoff win over L.A. Trade Tech.
Cabrera led the way in that game with 24 points, McIntyre added 17 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists, Trinh and Samiy each tossed 16 points and Seiler notched a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
The Lasers had to battle in their second-round win over Mt. San Jacinto at home last week.
IVC came out with a 59-52 victory, but the squad had to battle in the second half.
Irvine Valley trailed, 45-40, at the half. The third quarter was a different story. IVC outscored the Eagles, 17-9, in the period and held on the rest of the way.
Freshman guard Emily Freeman helped lead the Lasers' comeback with 21 points (hitting seven three-pointers). Freshman guard Trasara Alexander added 13 points and 14 rebounds in the win.
Alexander, named first team all-conference, is averaging 15.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game on the season. Sophomore guard Kennedy Pucci, who was named the defensive player of the year in the OEC, averages 9.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
The winner of Saturday's matchup will advance to the California Community College Athletic Association State Tournament, which kicks off on March 10 at West Hills College Lemoore.
Irvine Valley made the semifinals of the state tournament last season.
