Cuesta Women's Basketball has flirted with the rankings this season, but are still behind #4 Moorpark, #14 Santa Barbara City and unranked nemesis Ventura in the WSC standings. This week the Cougars open their second swing through the Western State Conference by hosting local rival Allan Hancock on Wednesday (5 PM), before travelling to play the 4th-ranked Raiders on Saturday (1 PM). In the first round of conference play, Cuesta beat the Bulldogs at Santa Maria in a barnburner, 69-68, but are currently a half-game behind their rivals in the standings. The Cougars, like nearly everyone else, struggled in their first meeting with Moorpark. The Raiders opened and closed strong, while the Cougars nearly matched them on both sides of halftime, 42-40. However, Moorpark held a 19-8 lead in the first quarter and closed the game on a 19-6 run. Cuesta is 12-9 overall and 3-3 against the WSC.
The Cougars ended their first swing through the Western State Conference with a road loss at #14 Santa Barbara, 78-62, last Wednesday. Once against the Cougars opened and closed the game on a low note, by falling behind 20-14 in the first quarter and allowing 25 points in the final ten minutes. The Vaqueros' 25-point finale marked for only the fourth time this season, including twice in a loss to #1 Sequoias, the Cougars' defense had relinquished that many points. On the year, Cuesta's defense allows an average of only 60.2 points per game. All-WSC Guard Reese Pasternik bounced back from a career-low five points in last week's win over LA Mission to score a game-high 22 points against the Vaqueros.
