The Laser women's baskeball team nearly did the unexpected on Friday night.
The Lasers had their chances but came up short in a 80-79 double overtime loss to Orange Coast, which is ranked fifth in the state, in an Orange Empire Conference game at OCC.
It was a big turnaround for the Lasers, who fell to Orange Coast, 81-60, the first time the two teams met.
Tiffany Smith led IVC with 23 points and 14 rebounds off of the bench, while DJ Butler had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Jenna Schonfeld and Nicole Tait each added 12 points.
"We lost, but it was a great game," Irvine Valley Coach Julie Hanks said. "I thought we played really well."
After starting conference losing its first two games, Irvine Valley has won four of its last six conference contests. The Lasers have a record of 15-9 overall and 4-4 in conference.
Irvine Valley is in a tie for fourth place in the conference standings with three other teams.
"I think we are getting better with every game," Hanks said. "The kids are playing with a lot of confidence right now."
So was Courtney Ford for Orange Coast last Friday.
Ford hit a game-winning, buzzer-beater in the second overtime for Orange Coast (23-3, 7-1).
She led all scorers with a career-high 38 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Rachael Maulit added 19 points for the Pirates.
While Ford and Maulit found success, the rest of the Pirates struggled offensively, hitting just 6 of 39 shots for the night, an icy 15.3 percent.
"We made a lot of mental and physical mistakes, but in the end, Courtney and Rachael made plays and willed us to win as they have done often in the past," OCC head coach Mike Thornton said. "I felt that IVC deserved to win the game, but to have a great season, you have to win one like that every once in a while."
In the second overtime, Irvine Valley jumped out to a quick 77-72 lead before the Pirates began their comeback. Orange Coast scored six straight to go up, 78-77.
But back came the Lasers as Nicole Tait grabbed a key offensive rebound and scored with 18 seconds left, giving IVC a 79-78 lead.
The Pirates failed to score on their next possession and on IVC's next possession, Butler was fouled with just over 8 seconds remaining.
The 6-2 freshman missed both free-attempts, setting up Ford's heroics.
The Mercer University-bound sophomore drove to the hoop and had her shot partially blocked. However, the ball found its way back into Ford's hands and she got another shot off at the buzzer that swished through the hoop for the game-winner.
"I was still really proud of our team," Hanks said. "We were down by 16 points in that game and found a way to come back. And we very easily could have won it."
Irvine Valley has two very important games this coming week. The Lasers play at Fullerton on Wednesday and then host Riverside on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
Fullerton is one game ahead of IVC in the standings and the Lasers are tied with Riverside.