Basketball Recap: Rio Rico Comes Up Short

After flying high against Cholla last Wednesday, Rio Rico came back down to earth. The Rio Rico Hawks lost 58-38 to the Amphitheater Panthers on Tuesday. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Panthers this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 47-43 back in January.

Amphitheater's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Kayla Tuakalau, who dropped a double-double with 19 points and 13 boards. Tuakalau has been hot for a while, having also posted four or more blocks the last 47 times she's played. Monica Verrett was another key player, putting up 23 points in addition to five assists and five steals.

Rio Rico's defeat dropped their record down to 12-10. As for Amphitheater, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 15-9.

Coming up, Rio Rico will venture away from home to challenge Sahuarita at 6:00 p.m. on February 11th. The timing is sure in Sahuarita's favor as the team sits on three straight wins at home while Rio Rico has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road. As for Amphitheater, they wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next contest, a 48-37 loss against Douglas on the 6th.