The Irvine Valley women's basketball team won three games in a row to capture the Riverside Community College EOS Tournament over the weekend to start the 2023-24 season.
The Lasers, ranked No. 17 in the state to start the year, defeated Pasadena City, 66-59, in the final of the event on Saturday at RCC.
Irvine Valley sophomore post player Makena Tomlinson finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds in the title game and was named the most valuable player of the event.
Freshman guard Moka Saiki was also selected to the all-tournament team for the Lasers.
Saiki finished with 15 points and sophomore wing Christen Ziska added 13 points in the victory over Pasadena City.
The Lasers played great on the defensive end in all three games.
They limited Pasadena City to 38.5 percent shooting in the game Saturday.
And IVC held its first two opponents in the tournament to 33.3 percent in each contest.
Irvine Valley started the tournament with a 78-55 victory over Cerritos last Thursday.
Saiki finished with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and five steals to lead the way.
Tomlinson contributed 16 points and nine rebounds and Ziska added 12 points and five rebounds.
Then on Friday, Irvine Valley knocked off San Jose City, 62-45, to reach the final of the tournament.
Saiki scored 20 points off of 8 of 15 shooting from the field, sophomore guard Emily Freeman added 13 points and Tomlinson chipped in 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The Lasers play again this Wednesday night as part of a doubleheader with the IVC men's squad.
Irvine Valley takes on Rio Hondo at 5 p.m. with the men's team battling San Diego Miramar at 7 p.m.
