Winners of Three Straight, Lady Bulldogs Open Second Half of Conference Saturday at First Place Ventura

The women's basketball team will enter the second half of the Western State Conference schedule riding a three-game winning streak at 3-2 in conference and 14-7 overall. The Bulldogs are third in the conference standings, one game behind Moorpark, and two behind first place Ventura. Hancock will return to action Saturday, February 4, at 7 p.m. at Ventura.

Last week, the Bulldogs won 53-44 at Cuesta and routed Oxnard at home 71-30 to continue their winning ways. Sophomore guard Syenna Ramirez (St. Joseph HS) led the Bulldogs with 15 points and six rebounds. Freshman center Grace Rosa (Paso Robles HS) recorded her fourth double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, six of the boards were on the offensive end. Freshman guards Taylor Lee-Hammer (Pagosa Springs HS) and Karly Beyers (Pioneer Valley HS), and sophomore Destinee Garcia (Golden West HS) had eight points apiece. Garcia had seven rebounds and three steals, while Beyers pulled down eight rebounds against the Cougars. The Pioneer Valley High School graduate hit four 3-pointers to finish with a team-best 16 points against Oxnard. Ramirez had 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Lee-Hammer had 12 points, while Rosa had nine points and 10 boards. Naomi Leopardi (Big Sandy HS) finished with 11 rebounds and eight points against the Condors.

Overall, Lee-Hammer is averaging 12 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game and shooting 43 percent from 3-point range. Rosa is averaging 11.7 points and 7.5 rebounds, while Ramirez is averaging 9.9 points and 4.6 assists. Beyers is shooting 35.7 percent from 3-point range and averaging nine points per game.

Ventura is 5-0 in conference play and 20-5 overall. The Pirates, who climbed one spot to No. 5 in the Southern California Regional Coaches Poll have won 13 in a row, including a 73-60 victory at Hancock in mid-January to open the conference schedule. Rhiana Dougan led the Pirates with 23 points, while Davina Del Castillo added 16 points and nine rebounds. Four Bulldogs reached double-digits, led by Lee-Hammer's 15 and 14 from Beyers. Rosa added 12 points and eight rebounds, and Ramirez finished with 11. Hancock led by as many as seven points in the third quarter, before the Pirates went on a run to retake the lead for good.  Ventura has won 49 straight conference games and is gunning for its 27^th straight conference title. Katie Campbell is the team's leading scorer at 17.6 points followed by Dougan at 14.8 points per game. Ventura is also ranked No. 10 in the most recent state poll.