Irvine Valley Wins, Remains in First Place

Irvine Valley completed the first round of Orange Empire Conference play in first place by beating visiting Cypress, 63-41, in a women’s basketball game Wednesday.

The Lasers (17-6, 4-1) came in tied for the top with Cypress (18-6, 3-2) but had little trouble with the Chargers from the start.

Irvine Valley, which has a starting lineup that’s an average of 2 1/4 inches taller than Cypress, dominated inside.

Irvine Valley forward Pam Loud had 18 points and 14 rebounds. Jamie Broneer, another forward, had 11 rebounds as Irvine Valley outrebounded Cypress, 48-37.

“This was a huge win,” Irvine Valley Coach Lisa McNamee said. “I was really worried about playing them.”

Irvine Valley was sharp for most of the game and led, 33-20, at the half. A 10-0 run to start the second half ended any real comeback hopes for Cypress.

Janine Shaw had 11 points and Mary Perry got 15 rebounds for Cypress, which is tied for second with Rancho Santiago.