Season Ends for Women's Basketball in Playoff Loss at Mt. San Antonio

WALNUT, Calif. - The Allan Hancock College women's basketball team saw its season come to an end in round two of the Southern California Reginal Playoffs after a loss to the No. 1-seeded Mt. San Antonio College squad on Thursday evening. | BOX SCORE

Coach Nerelli's squad, who picked up the No. 16 seed in the bracket, entered the game as the clear underdog after drawing a contest against the eight-time state champions. Neither team was able to gain much ground throughout the opening frame, but momentum swayed in favor of the Bulldogs after Jayci Bayne's made three-pointer gave them a slim 14-13 advantage at the buzzer. A pair of free throws from Kayla Taylor and a layup by Alexandria Paquet stretched the lead to five, marking Hancock's largest lead of the night. The advantage quickly dwindled for AHC as the Mounties rattled off a 23-5 run to retake the momentum en route to a 13-point cushion at the intermission. Play leveled out for both sides in the second half as Mt. SAC held just a four-point advantage through the final two quarters, but the Bulldogs were unable to chip away at the steep deficit after the second frame stumble.

Bayne led all scorers on the night and was the lone double figure finisher for the Bulldogs with a 23 point performance. She finished the contest with a 38.9 percent mark from the field and was nearly perfect from the charity stripe after an 8-for-9 finish. Jewelia Maniss narrowly missed her second consecutive double-double after grabbing 10 rebounds and recording nine points. Maniss also led the team in steals, securing six, while Taylor posted a team-high mark of two blocks.  

The Bulldogs close the thrilling season with an overall record of 18-12 and an 8-4 mark against Western State Conference foes. The second round exit ties the program's effort in 2020, which was the deepest playoff run in nearly three decades at the time.