Irvine Valley coach Julie Hanks has been proud of her team's effort in getting ready for the 2019-20 season.
And that showed on Friday in the Lasers' first game of the year.
Irvine Valley took on another highly ranked squad to open things up in the Grossmont Crossover event.
The Lasers, ranked No. 7 in the California Community College Women's Basketball Coaches Association So. Cal. Preseason Poll, got out to a quick start and defeated No. 6 East LA, 83-69, on Friday night.
Irvine Valley was in control from the start.
Tied, 2-2, early, IVC went on a 19-0 run and never looked back.
Irvine Valley led, 26-9, at the end of the first quarter and was ahead, 46-30, at the half.
In the opening quarter, returning sophomore all-Orange Empire Conference post player Zoe Stachowski set the tone. She had 10 points and eight rebounds.
IVC shot 56.3 percent in the first quarter, while holding East LA to 15.0 percent.
East LA hung around after halftime, out-scoring the Lasers, 24-15, in the third quarter.
But Irvine Valley still won going away.
Stachowski finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman guard Morgan Higgins added 15 points, 10 assists and six steals.
Returning sophomore all-conference player Anai Washington contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds and freshman guard Danielle Silva chipped in 11 points off the bench.
Irvine Valley shot 50.7 percent from the field as a team in the game.
Ryan Terry led East LA with 22 points.
Irvine Valley plays again in the crossover event on Saturday, taking on host Grossmont at 5 p.m.
