The Cuesta College women’s basketball took home their second consecutive win of the season on Tuesday after beating the Hartnell College Panthers, 62-45.

It was a back-and-forth battle in the first half, with the Cougars only up by three points by halftime. The second half was all Cuesta, starting the third quarter with a 10-3 run and outscoring the Panthers 33-19 over the last two quarters.

2024 All-Western State Conference First-Teamer Reese Pasternik had her most efficient night of the season, shooting 7-13 from the field and dropping a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Kaylee Batten also pitched in 14 points of her own, and the team overall made an impressive 49% of its attempted field goals.

Last year, Cuesta women’s basketball made the playoffs for the first time since 2015. The Cougars are now 2-0 this season and after the win against Hartnell, head coach Casey Blair is confident this team can have another successful year.

“The team we played tonight is a top-20 team, so we thought if we can win this game, we have a good year,” Blair said. “So right now I feel pretty good about the year, but we’ve got to keep working.”

The Cougars will continue their five-game homestand this week against the College of the Sequoias on Thursday at 6 p.m. and Porterville College on Saturday at 1 p.m. Despite the hot start to the season, Blair remains focused on each upcoming game.

“We’re taking it one game at a time and one practice at a time,” Blair said. “We’re not looking at the big picture, right now the small picture and everything’s going to take care of itself.”