Hancock Women's Basketball Tops Cuesta 59-54, Clinches First Winning Conference Season in 17 Years

Taylor Lee-Hammer scored 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Allan Hancock College women's basketball team to a 59-54 conference win at Cuesta College on Wednesday evening. The Bulldogs won their seventh straight meeting with the Cougars to improve to 6-3 in Western State Conference play and 14-11 overall. With one conference game remaining, the Bulldogs have clinched their first winning conference record since going 8-4 in league action during the 2000-2001 season. Cuesta dropped to 2-7 in league and 10-13 overall.

Hancock led 19-7 after the first quarter and 33-21 at halftime. The Cougars made a game of it in the second half, outscoring the Bulldogs 33-26 in the final 20 minutes, but Hancock held on for the victory.

Lee-Hammer went 6-for-9 from the floor, including a 3-for-4 effort from 3-point range. The sophomore guard made seven of her eight free throws to tie her season-high with 22 points. She added nine rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Anamarie Fruge added 10 points, four rebounds and four assists. The sophomore went 4-for-9 from the field, and hit her only 3-point shot of the game. Grace Rosa finished with eight points, nine rebounds and blocked four shots. Hannah Walls added eight points, six rebounds and two blocked shots. Sophomore Karly Beyers finished with six points and three assists.

Overall, Hancock shot 45 percent from the floor (19-for-42) and hit 8-of-13 from 3-point range (61 percent). The Bulldogs made 13 of their 18 free throws or 72 percent.

The women close the regular season at home at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17 against Oxnard. The Condors fell 69-32 to Ventura on Thursday. The Pirates clinched a share of their 28th consecutive conference title with the victory. Oxnard dropped to 0-9 in league and 4-18 on the year.