Women's Basketball Advances to Second Round After Win over Southwestern

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - The No. 10-seeded Allan Hancock College women's basketball team is moving on to the second round of the Southern California Regional Tournament after topping No. 23 Southwestern College, 77-69, in the opening round of the playoffs on Wednesday evening. | BOX SCORE

Both teams struggled to find an advantage in the opening quarter, but Kayla Taylor created some separation after sparking a late 7-0 to close out the frame for the Bulldogs (21-8). The home squad continued to extend their lead in the second quarter by building towards a 12 point advantage at the intermission, while a solid defensive performance managed to hold off a second half comeback attempt by the Jaguars (15-12). Hancock finished with a 42.2 percent showing from the field and held a 48-39 advantage on the boards. 

Alexandria Paquet led all scorers on the night with a stat-stuffing performance that featured 17 points, five rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. Taylor and India Dowling-Green added 14 points apiece while Mallory Branum followed with 13. Chloe Blankenship and Giselle Calderon rounded out the top scorers with 10 points and nine points, respectively. Dowling-Green also recorded a double-double after hauling in 13 rebounds, while Blankenship snagged nine and Calderon grabbed eight. 

The Bulldogs will now travel to face off against the No. 7-seeded Vaqueros at Glendale College on Saturday, February 25th. The winner of Saturday's evening will move on to round three for a matchup between the victory of the No. 2 Palomar/No. 15 Rio Hondo contest on March 4th.