Women's Basketball Snags Milestone Win Over Ventura, Tabbed as No. 10 Seed in SoCal Regional Tournament

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Allan Hancock College women's basketball team closed out the regular season with a thrilling 67-61 victory over Ventura College on Friday evening en route to the program's 20th win of the season. Friday's must-win gave Hancock a final conference record of 9-3, moving them into second place in the Western State Conference (North) standings. The milestone victory also marks just the seventh 20+ win season for women's basketball through 47 seasons, dating back to 1975, and is the first since 1994-95. 

The regular season finale came down to the wire as the two teams as the back-and-for affair featured 11 ties and eight lead changes. The two programs were tied with just over two minutes remaining before a three-pointer from the Pirates gave the visitors a one-point advantage with 1:49 to go. Alexandria Paquet but the home squad back on top with a layup just 15 seconds later before Mallory Branum sunk a key shot from distance with 39 ticks left. Ventura was forced to stop the clock by fouling down the stretch, but Coach Scott's squad capitalized on the opportunity by going 5-for-6 from the charity stripe to close the contest.

Paquet stuffed the stat sheet and led the way offensively with an 18-point showing that included an 8-for-9 finish from the free throw line. The Santa Maria native also tallied six rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks on the night. Mallory Branum tacked on 15 points and snagged a team-best total of eight rebounds. Giselle Calderon and Chloe Blankenship rounded out the top scorers with 13 points and 11 points, respectively. 

The Bulldogs (20-8) will make their third consecutive playoff appearance after being selected as the No. 10 seed in the 2023 Southern California Regional Tournament bracket. They will play host to the No. 23-seeded Southwestern College Jaguars on Wednesday, February 22nd, inside of the Joe White Memorial Gymnasium. The Jaguars (15-11) earned a fifth place finish in the Pacific Coast Conference after going 7-7 against league opponents. The winner of Wednesday's contest advance to the second round and will make a trip to face No. 7-seeded Glendale College on Saturday, February 25th. | FULL BRACKET

Tickets for the game, which is set to tip-off at 7 PM, are now available at ahcbulldogs.com/ticketing. Per the CCCAA guidelines, ticket prices are as follows: Adults - $12, Students - $8, Senior Citizens - $8, and Children (6+) - $8. Children under the age of six receive free admission. Please note that the ticketing gate is cashless and that season and/or conference passes are not valid for postseason events. Animals, other than service animals, are not permitted at the venue.