Women's Water Polo Hosts Ventura Wednesday in WSC Tournament Game

The Hancock women's water polo team enters the Western State Conference Tournament on a two-game winning streak. The Bulldogs finished the regular season 2-4 in league and 12-14 on the season. Hancock received the No. 4 seed in the tournament and will host No. 5 Ventura on Wednesday, Nov. 1, at 3 p.m. at Paul Nelson Aquatic Center. The winner advances to play at No. 1 Santa Barbara on Friday at 2:45 p.m.

Hancock closed the regular season last week with a 2-0 record at Santa Barbara's Halloween Tournament. Freshman Maddison Stangl (Cabrillo HS) and Meagan Coyne (Righetti HS) had three goals each, and goalie Shay McMann (Righetti HS) had six saves in Hancock's 9-4 win over Southwestern. The Bulldogs later routed LA Pierce 14-3 behind four goals and four assists from Ellyn Clardy (Righetti HS), and three goals apiece from Stangl and Shannon Copeland (Clarendon Girls' School). McMann made six saves in the win. Earlier in the week, Hancock fell 15-6 to first place Santa Barbara. Freshman Alicia Reyes (Santa Ynez HS) scored three times for Hancock.

Copeland leads the team with 48 goals, 20 assists and 26 steals. Coyne ranks second with 44 goals, 33 assists and 35 steals, while Stangl has scored 36 times. McMann has recorded 229 saves in the cage this season for the Bulldogs.

The Pirates and Bulldogs both went 2-4 in league play. The Bulldogs finished 12-14 in the regular season, while Ventura finished 13-14. Hancock won the head-to-head matchup 10-7 in Ventura on October 4. The Bulldogs overcame a 7-6 deficit by scoring the final four goals of the game for the program's first ever victory against the Pirates. Coyne led the Bulldogs with four goals, Copeland had three assists, and McMann had seven saves in goal.

Kelsey Gordon is Ventura's top scorer with 54 goals, while Sara McGuire has scored 46 goals. Kayla Wallace leads the Pirates with 103 steals. Goalie Haley Hall has recorded 173 saves this