Lasers Take Top Honors in All-OEC Selections

At the annual post-conference women's basketball coaches meeting, the OEC coaches selected the First and Second All-Orange Empire Conference Teams while also selecting a Most Valuable Player and Coach of the Year.

Irvine Valley College's Kasey Smit was named the OEC Most Valuable Player. Cypress College Head Coach Margaret Mohr and Irvine Valley's Julie Hanks, whose teams also shared this season's OEC Title, were named Co-Coaches of the Year.

Smit was undoubtedly the most impressive player in the conference for the Lasers this season. She averaged an OEC leading 18.7 points and 13.1 rebounds per game, while shooting an effective 47.8% from the floor. She upped her game in conference play, scoring at least 20 points in all but two OEC contests, including a 39-point game in the Lasers' overtime victory against Riverside to secure a share of the conference title.

Coach Mohr has received her third consecutive Coach of the Year Award to go along with her third consecutive OEC Championship. She helped the Chargers rebound from a rough 1-4 start to the season to finish 21-7 overall, winning their final nine games to clinch a share of the 2018 OEC Title, and #12 seed in the CCCAA Playoffs. Coach Hanks guided the Lasers to a 24-4 overall record and a share of the 2018 OEC Title on their way to #7 seed in the CCCAA Playoffs. She helped IVC lead the conference in scoring, averaging 76.3 points per game, while also running an unselfish offense that ranked third in the state in assists per game (20.1).

The complete All-Orange Empire Conference list is below.

Co-Coach of the Year – Margaret Mohr, Cypress College & Julie Hanks, Irvine Valley College

Most Valuable Player – Kasey Smit, Irvine Valley

First Team

Kasey Smit, Irvine Valley

Vivian Lara, Cypress

Joana Adams, Riverside

Alexis Casillas, Santa Ana

Gabby Carbajal, Cypress

Elizabeth Garcia, Irvine Valley

Sydney Driggs, Orange Coast

Dejah Wright, Riverside

Second Team

Lexi Vail, Irvine Valley

Melody Thomsen, Fullerton

Kayla De Leon, Saddleback

Kimari Hollis, Riverside

Cailey Vitug, Santa Ana

Kiara Warren, Irvine Valley

Aliyah Ahmad, Fullerton

Raven Herrington, Saddleback

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