Women's Basketball Fall 73-62 to Ventura in Second Round of CCCAA SoCal Regionals

A fourth quarter surge powered Ventura College past the Allan Hancock College women's basketball team in the second round of the SoCal Regionals 73-62. The Bulldogs, who made it to the second round of the play-offs for the first time under Head Coach Cary Nerelli, finished the season at 14-16 overall. Ventura, the No. 3 seed, improved to 20-7 and will go on to face No. 6 Irvine Valley in the Sweet Sixteen.

The Bulldogs fell behind half-way through the first quarter by five points at 14-9 before the Bulldogs began to light up the scoreboard beyond the three-point arc. The Bulldogs went a perfect 5-for-5 from beyond the arc in the second quarter. Freshman Alijah Paquet sunk three three-point shots and led the Bulldogs in scoring going into the half. The Bulldogs went on a 10-5 run at the end of the second quarter and took a 32-27 lead into the half.

The Bulldog's lead began to shrink at the beginning of the third quarter as the Pirates began to find success down low in the paint. The lead changed hands several times in the third, but the Pirates would hold on for good and outscored the Bulldogs 21-15. In the fourth quarter Hancock began to close the lead, but Ventura started to throw it from outside the arc and went 4-for-5 closing the door on the Bulldog's opportunity. Ventura went on to outscore Hancock 25-15 in the fourth to maintain their lead and end the game.

The deciding factor in the game were the team's shooting percentages. Hancock went 17-for-62 from the floor only shooting 18 percent inside the arc. The Bulldogs went 12-for-35 from outside the arc and only shot 27.4 percent for the game. The Bulldogs shot 84 percent at the charity stripe going 16-for-19. Ventura went 27-for-52 and shot over 50 percent both inside and outside the arc. The Pirates went 10-for-16 at the line.

Paquet finished with a game-high 20 points, four rebounds, and three assists. The freshman went 5-for-15 and went a perfect 5-for-5 at the free-throw line.

Freshman Aryana Gonzales scored 17 points and went 4-for-17. Gonzales moved the ball well all game and picked up a team-high four assists.

Jayci Bayne put 12 up on the scoreboard and went 4-for-16 from the floor. The freshman picked up six rebounds and two assists.

Milan McGary picked up seven points shooting 2-for-7 and going 2-for-3 at the free-throw line. The sophomore also hauled in three rebounds and picked up three assists.

Sophomore Sarah Gudeman earned six points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Gudeman also had the hot hands for the night picking up four steals and creating several scoring chances for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldog's finish up their historic season going above and beyond any expectations placed on them. With only six players, this group of women outlasted some of the best competition in the state to not only make it to play-offs, but make it to the second round. This year the women's basketball program has made its second play-off appearance under Coach Nerelli and made its farthest play-off run in over three decades.

The men's basketball team will be playing this Saturday, March 7^th at 7:00 p.m. against No. 2 East Los Angeles College in the third round of the CCCAA SoCal Regionals. Be sure to follow Bulldog Athletics on social media or on the website @ahcbulldogs on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Allan Hancock College Athletics would like to thank its sponsors and its fans for all the support of Lady Bulldog basketball this season. We look forward to seeing you next season.