Irvine Valley, the No. 2 seed from So. Cal. and Orange Empire Conference champion with a record of 25-2 overall, starts the California Community College Athletic Association State Championship on Thursday at West Hills Lemoore at 1 p.m. against No. 3 from No. Cal. Butte.
Butte has a record of 23-6 overall and won the Golden Valley Conference with a record of 10-0.
Irvine Valley and Butte are two of the hottest teams in the state with the Lasers having won 16 games in a row and Butte on a 14-game win streak.
The Lasers reached the Final 8 with an 80-43 win over College of the Canyons in a So. Cal. regional final last Saturday at home.
IVC led, 21-13, after the first quarter, but took over the game in second quarter.
The Lasers held a 45-24 advantage at the break and also out-scored the Cougars, 18-10, in the third quarter and, 17-9, in the fourth quarter.
Irvine Valley's defense was the key. The Lasers held Canyons to just 25.0 percent (14 of 56) shooting from the field as a team.
The Lasers out-rebounded Canyons, 57-38, and, 21-7, on the offensive glass.
Irvine Valley also turned Canyons over 28 times on the night.
Laser sophomore guard Jessica Suruor led the squad with 21 points and six steals. She made 5 of 8 three-pointers.
Freshman forward Sarah Matossian had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Paola Roa had 12 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and five steals in 37 minutes and freshman forward Paea Tafea came off the bench with 16 points and eight rebounds.
OEC player of the year Morgan Higgins, a sophomore guard, leads the Lasers, averaging 16.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 3.8 steals per game.
Matossian averages 15.5 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.6 steals per game.
Both Higgins and Matossian were named all-state.
Irvine Valley also gets big production from sophomore guard Paola Roa, who averages 15.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.6 steals per game and sophomore guard Jessica Suruor, who is averaging 15.7 points and shooting 40.8 percent (87 of 213) from three-point range.
Butte moved on with a 69-42 victory at Fresno City last Saturday night.
The Roadrunners had three players score in double figures, led by Meghan Weinrich with 21 points, 16 rebounds and four assists.
Sanaya Shrader came off the bench with 14 points and 17 rebounds and Cassidy King finished with 14 points and five assists for Butte.
On the year, Weinrich is averaging 21.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 4.3 steals per game.
Women's Championship Quarterfinals (Mar. 10)
(3N) Butte vs. (2S) Irvine Valley, 1 p.m.
(3S) Moorpark vs. (2N) Sierra, 3 p.m.
(4S) Palomar vs. (1N) San Joaquin Delta, 5 p.m.
(4N) College of the Sequoias vs. (1S) Mt. San Antonio, 7 p.m.
Semifinals (Mar. 12) - 1 & 3 p.m.
Championship (Mar. 13) - 1 p.m.
All games will be streamed by BAOSN.tv on www.cccaasports.org
