Gauchos too much for Lasers

The Saddleback women's basketball team picked improved to 2-0 in conference play with a 62-48 win over inter-district rival Irvine Valley College on Friday at the Saddleback gymnasium.  The Gauchos had a 23-point lead heading into the final quarter.

Saddleback and Irvine Valley were close through the opening quarter with the Gauchos holding a 13-11 advantage after 10 minutes.  The Gauchos then ran away and hid, outscoring the Lasers by 10 in the second quarter and 11 in the third as IVC couldn't keep pace with a hot-handed Saddleback squad that has now won nine of its past 11 games.

Saddleback battled foul trouble for most of the night as Kiazha Ginwright, Irma Ealy and Kara Ito were in trouble throughout.  It finally started to add up in the fourth quarter as the lead went from 23 to 13 with just 3:00 left on the clock.

The Gauchos didn't let it bother them as they rode the hot hand of Janae Omusi.  With the lead dwindling, Saddleback went back to Omusi on back-to-back possessions for easy lay-ups and lead was back to 62-45 with 1:41 remaining. 

Omusi finished with a game-high 26 points on 11-for-19 shooting from the field.  She also finished with a team-high nine rebounds while playing most of the second half with three fouls.  Laura Tapia also had a hot hand from the outside, scoring 13 points while dishing out four assists.  Tapia was 3-of-8 from beyond the arc.  Kara Ito was also tough on the Lasers, scoring nine points while collecting six assists.

Saddleback is now 15-5 overall and 2-0 in Orange Empire Conference play.  The Gauchos will have a week off before hosting River City College next Friday.  Tip time is scheduled for 5:00 PM against the Tigers.