Basketball Recap: Freedom Picks Up Third Consecutive Win

Freedom hadn't done well against Heritage recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. The Freedom Falcons took down the Heritage Patriots 54-39. The win was nothing new for the Falcons as they're now sitting on three straight.

Freedom's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Anisa Blalock led the charge by putting up 12 points in addition to eight assists and eight boards. Those eight assists gave Blalock a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ariel De La O, who went 7 of 16 on her way to 17 points.

Blalock wasn't the only one working in the assists department: Freedom was working as a unit and finished the game with 15 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Heritage only racked up six assists.

Heritage's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Payton Ladrido, who posted 12 points. Gelenna Smithers was another key player, posting five points.

Freedom is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 16-6 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.8 points per game. As for Heritage, the defeat snapped their winning streak at six games and leaves them with a 13-9 record.

Freedom and Heritage should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in the MaxPreps California Rankings. Freedom (ranked 165th) will meet Liberty (ranked 617th) at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Freedom is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.9 points per game this season. Meanwhile, Heritage will square off against Deer Valley at 6:30 p.m. on February 4th up 875 places (222 vs. 1097).