Dominant Effort by Rosa Pushes Hancock Basketball by Moorpark, Bulldogs Sit Alone in Second Place After Fourth Straight Win

Sophomore Grace Rosa recorded her fifth double-double of the season with a 20-point, 17-rebound performance to lead the Allan Hancock College women's basketball team to a 35-29 win over Moorpark in a defensive showdown Wednesday evening inside Joe White Memorial Gymnasium. The Bulldogs won their fourth straight game to improve to 4-1 in Western State Conference play and 12-9 overall. Moorpark fell to 16-6 overall and 3-2 in league. Moorpark, ranked No. 20 in the state last week, was tabbed at No. 9 in this week's Southern California Regional poll.

Rosa scored the Bulldogs' first 11 points of the game. The sophomore scored eight quick points in the game to give Hancock an early 8-2 lead. The Raiders closed the opening quarter on a 9-0 run to carry an 11-9 lead into the second quarter. Hancock trailed 17-11 in the closing seconds of the half when freshman Sidney Aguilera drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to narrow the deficit to 17-14 at the break. Aguilera was the only Bulldog to score a point in the first half other than Rosa. The Bulldogs shot 23 percent in the first half and limited Moorpark to 22 percent.

Hancock outscored Moorpark 9-6 in the third quarter to tie the game at 23-23 with 10 minutes to go. Rosa scored four points in the third, while Taylor Lee-Hammer, Calley Pruett and Hannah Walls added a combined five points.

The Bulldogs pushed ahead in the fourth quarter and never looked back behind the play of Rosa and their stingy defense. Overall, Hancock held Moorpark to a 10-for-52 performance from the floor or 19 percent. The Raiders went 1-for-14 from 3-point range. The Bulldogs finished the night at 30 percent from the floor and 1-for-8 from long-range. The Bulldogs went 4-for-8 from the free-throw line, while Moorpark hit eight of 12 from the line.

Hancock outrebounded Moorpark 43 to 34 behind a career-high 17 rebounds from Rosa. Five of her rebounds came on the offensive end. Rosa went 9-for-19 from the field and 2-for-4 from the line to record her second straight double-double. The Paso Robles High School graduate also recorded four balls.

Aguilera finished with five points off the bench for Hancock. The freshman hit 2-of-3 overall and drained Hancock's only 3-pointer of the game. Lee-Hammer and Walls added four points and six rebounds apiece. Karly Beyers chipped in four rebounds and five assists.

Kelsea Illengo led the Raiders with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Rosa and the Bulldogs limited Moorpark's leading scorer, Barbara Rangel, to 5 points and 8 rebounds, well below her average of 16 points and 13 rebounds.

The Bulldogs concluded the first half of league play with a 4-1 mark. Hancock hosts first-place Ventura on Saturday, February 3 at 3 p.m. The Pirates are ranked No. 10 in the state and are 5-0 in conference and 19-6 overall. Hancock lost at Ventura 60-38 in its conference opener.

The college will host Carney's Coaches vs. Cancer that day to help find a cure and raise awareness about cancer. All ticket, t-shirt and snack bar sales will be donated to Marian Regional Medical Center's Mission Hope Cancer Center that provides support programs and services to local patients battling the disease and their families. The college named the event in honor of Larry Carney, a local basketball coaching legend, four-time cancer survivor, former Hancock assistant coach and source of inspiration to the campus and community.