Former Irvine Valley women's basketball player Rachel Gafford finished her first sesason at NAIA Simpson University in Redding.
Gafford, a guard, helped the Red Hawks to a record of 20-11 overall and 16-4 in the Cal Pac Conference.
The team also made a trip to the NAIA Tournament in Lewiston, Idaho.
Gafford played in 21 contests and started one. She averaged 3.5 points and 2.2 rebounds for the Red Hawks.
Gafford had a season-best 11 points in her team's game against Oregon Tech last November.
She was one of six players from the Irvine Valley 2021-22 team that ended up signing last summer.
The 2021-22 IVC squad turned in one of the best seasons in program history.
Irvine Valley reached the semifinals of the California Community College Athletic Association State Championship and ended with 26 victories.
IVC, which also captured an Orange Empire Conference title, was ranked as high as No. 1 in So. Cal. in the final coaches' poll of the regular season. And the Lasers received the No. 2 seed in the So. Cal. Regional Playoffs.
The Lasers fell in the state semifinals to San Joaquin Delta in a close game, 77-74, at West Hills Lemoore in March of 2022.
Gafford, out of Big Bear High, averaged 4.9 points and 2.1 rebounds for the Lasers before suffering an inury.
