The Irvine Valley women's basketball team got off to a great start and defeated Golden West, 81-68, on the road in an Orange Empire Conference game on Friday night.
With the win, the Lasers remained in second place in the conference and improved their record to 17-7 overall and 8-2 in the OEC.
Sophomore wing Christen Ziska led the way with 25 points. She made 8 of 14 shots from the field, 2 of 4 from three-point range and 7 of 9 attempts from the free throw line.
She was one of four players for Irvine Valley to score in double figures. Sophomore post player Makena Tomlinson added 12 points, 12 rebounds and three assists and sophomore guard Emily Freeman and freshman guard Moka Saiki each contributed 11 points. Freeman also had three rebounds, four assists and three steals and Saiki ended with eight rebounds for the Lasers.
IVC started fast, jumping out to a 22-10 lead after the first quarter. Irvine Valley took a 41-30 lead into halftime and put the game away in the fourth quarter, out-scoring Golden West, 23-20.
Irvine Valley shot an impressive 51 percent (25 of 49) from the field as a team and went to the free throw line 38 times, making 27 attempts.
Golden West was paced by Ty Adams and Princess McCauley with 21 points apiece.
Irvine Valley plays again on Tuesday at home against Fullerton at 6 p.m. It is a Coaches vs. Cancer game for Irvine Valley. Even more details about the contest will be in a preview on Monday night.
