Hancock topples Vaqueros 63-53

Hancock jumped out to a 22-14 first-quarter lead on Saturday afternoon and went on to defeat SBCC 63-53 in a WSC North women's basketball game in Santa Maria.

The Vaqueros (12-12, 4-4) trailed 22-14 after a quarter, then pulled within four at the half, 40-36. Hancock (13-11, 5-3) went on an 11-0 run to stretch the lead to 17 (55-38) with three minutes to go in the third period.

The Vaqueros cut it to six (59-53) on a 3-pointer by Meagan Moore with 1:33 to play.

Aaliyah Pauling paced Santa Barbara with 21 points (on 4-10 3-point shooting), five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Moore hit three triples and scored 11 points.

Grace Rosa led the Bulldogs with 21 points and nine boards.

Hancock outshot the Vaqueros 43.1 to 33.9% and was 12-12 on free throws. SBCC hit 7-25 from long range compared to 1-6 for the home team.

"We live and die by the 3 and you have to make shots on the road," said Vaquero coach Sandrine Krul. "It's so frustrating because this team has to be able to adjust and tonight it was like we were in a mental fog."

The Vaqueros will play their final home game on Wednesday when Moorpark visits the Sports Pavilion at 5 p.m.