By Robert Nilsen

CYPRESS, CA – The Cypress College women's basketball team (15-5, 3-0 OEC) defeated the visiting Irvine Valley Lasers (9-11, 1-3 OEC) 74-59 in their OEC home opener on Friday night. The Chargers entered the game ranked No. 17 in the state.

Sophomore guard Alyssa Movchan led the Chargers with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting including 3 three pointers. Sophomore guard Sylvia Garcia struggled from the field going 4-of-12 but ended up scoring 11 points, contributing 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Sophomore center Joi Bertrand tallied 7 blocks for the Chargers as she used her height to shut down the Lasers at the rim

The Chargers began the first quarter with their full court press, but Irvine responded with a press of their own. This led to a tight first quarter which went back and forth with several lead changes. At the end of the first the Chargers led 23-22. The Chargers stepped up their press in the second quarter as they forced 12 turnovers and outscored the Lasers 19-2 to take a 42-24 lead into halftime.

The Lasers came crawling back into the game with a 5-0 run to start the third quarter. However, Cypress responded by outscoring the Lasers 12-8 over the rest of the period to take a 54-38 lead into the fourth quarter. The Chargers began the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game, 63-38. The Lasers were able to force 9 turnovers late in the game and cut the Charger lead to only 12 before Movchan iced the game with 2 layups to secure the victory.

Women's Basketball will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 18 when they travel to take on Saddleback College at 5 p.m. The Chargers will play their next home game on Friday, Jan. 20 as they host the Riverside at 5 p.m.

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