Cougars come up short at Crossover in Santa Barbara

LA Southwest opened with strong and briefly led 7–6 after a LaiLah Whittle layup at 6:54 of the first quarter off a Rian Dillihunt feed. From there, Santa Ana strung together a 14–4 stretch to take a 20–11 lead after one. The Cougars generated second-chance looks early—Destiny Hurt-Floyd worked the glass aggressively, helping create multiple early possessions—but the visitors' perimeter makes, including threes at 9:17 and 7:44 of the second, widened the gap to 38–21 at halftime.

The Cougs punched back after the break. Dillihunt buried a right-wing three at 8:50 of the third (41–24), then Whittle finished in traffic at 8:12 (41–26) to cap a 5–0 burst. Southwest held serve for several minutes with stops and free throws, but Santa Ana answered with a late-quarter push and carried a 49–34 edge into the fourth.

Southwest kept competing down the stretch. Miranda Johnson hit a mid-range jumper at 5:47 of the fourth (55–40), and Dillihunt sank two free throws at 2:27 (63–45). The Cougars finished with 40 rebounds and created extra possessions on the glass, yet a cold shooting day (29.1% FG, 3–16 from three) proved too much to overcome.

By the Numbers (Southwest):

• Rian Dillihunt – 22 points (8–19 FG, 2–7 3PT, 4–4 FT), 9 rebounds, 2 assists

• Destiny Hurt-Floyd – 6 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal

• LaiLah Whittle – 6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists

• Team – 40 rebounds, 10 assists

Scoring by Period:
Santa Ana      20–18–11–20 = 69
LA Southwest 11–10–13–13 = 47

Final:
Santa Ana 69, LA Southwest 47.