Hancock Women Earn Come-From-Behind Win over Bakersfield 58-55

A 15-0 run during a pivotal span in the third and fourth quarters helped the Allan Hancock College women's basketball team erase an eight-point deficit and defeat Bakersfield 58-55 on Friday evening in Joe White Memorial Gymnasium. The Bulldogs snapped a three-game slide to improve to 10-5 overall. The Renegades, who had won nine of their last 10 games, dropped to 9-7.

The Bulldogs dominated the inside game outscoring the Renegades 40-14 on points in the paint. Hancock forward Naomi Leopardi recorded her third double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Destinee Garcia and Grace Rosa fell one rebound shy of a double-double. Garcia scored a team-high 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field, and a 3-for-3 mark from the free-throw line. The sophomore pulled down nine rebounds and had three steals. Rosa, a freshman center, went 7-for-17 from the field for 14 points. The Paso Robles High School graduate had three blocked shots and nine boards.

Sophomore guard Syenna Ramirez had six points, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals for the Bulldogs. Freshman guard Taylor Lee-Hammer added nine points, five boards and one steal.

All five Hancock starters scored at least one basket in the first quarter to stake the Bulldogs to a 12-9 lead after the first 10 minutes. Bakersfield outscored Hancock 20-12 in the second quarter to carry at 29-24 advantage into halftime.

Bakersfield's Marissa Figueroa hit a 3-pointer with 3:12 to play in the third quarter to give the Renegades their biggest lead of the game 42-34. The Bulldogs went on a 15-0 run over the next 6:31 of the game. A three-point play by Garcia and a layup from Ramirez brought Hancock to within 42-39 at the end of three quarter. Freshman guard Karly Beyers buried a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter to tie the game at 42-42. On Hancock's next possession, Rosa scored inside to give Hancock its first lead at 44-42 since the Bulldogs led 18-17 with 5:07 to play in the second quarter. Leopardi scored inside and Lee-Hammer drained a 3-pointer to cap the 15-0 run and build Hancock's lead to 49-42 with 6:41 remaining. The Renegades closed to within two points, but missed their final three shots down the stretch.

Hancock shot 46 percent overall from the field by sinking 25 of its 54 shots. The Bulldogs made five of their seven free throws, and three of eight from 3-point range.

The Bulldogs won despite committing 27 turnovers that led to 24 Bakersfield points. The Bulldogs dominated the boards with a 40-22 advantage.  Figueroa led the Renegades with 19 points.

Hancock's four-team Crossover Tournament will end on Saturday. Cuesta will face Bakersfield at 3 p.m. The Bulldogs will face L.A. Pierce at 5 p.m. inside Joe White Memorial Gymnasium. Cuesta (11-6) routed L.A. Pierce (1-12) 85-41 to open the Crossover on Friday.