It is to no surprise that the Irvine Valley College women's basketball team was awarded the most prestigious awards at the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) All-Conference meeting last Saturday. The lasers earned six all-conference nominations highlighted by Morgan Higgins being named the unanimous Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Head Coach Julie Hanks earning Coach of the Year.

Higgins, along with her MVP nod, was named the Offensive Player of the Year after she led the league with 20.1 points-per-game and a 56.6 shooting percentage. She was seventh in the conference with 201 total points and recorded 10 double-digit scoring games.

Hanks earned her second-consecutive Coach of the Year honor after leading her squad to their fourth-consecutive conference title. Her team went a flawless 12-0 in conference play and won each game by 14 or more points.

Riverside's Mya Clark was named the Defensive Player of the Year after dominating the boards all year. She averaged 13.4 rebounds-per-game and 1.3 steals-per-game. She recorded 10 or more rebounds in all but three conference contests highlighted by a 26-point rebounds game in a win over Santa Ana. Furthermore, she ended the season by recording 10 or more rebounds in seven of the last eight games and recorded 17 steals in the last eight games.

Release by Nicho DellaValle, Riverside SID