Basketball Recap: Princeton Comes Up Short

It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Princeton can now relate to. They took a blow against the Hayfork Timberjacks on Wednesday, falling 63-28. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest loss the Eagles have suffered since December 19, 2024.

Princeton's loss came despite strong showings from Jada Dillard and Mackenzie Wills. Dillard went 6-for-8 en route to 13 points, while Wills posted six points. That was a full 46.4% of Princeton's points, marking the fifth time in a row Dillard has scored more than a third of the team's points. Guadalupe Espinoza was another key player, putting up a point and three blocks.

Hayfork's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Sidney Medellin led the charge by dropping a double-double with 20 points and 11 boards. Medellin also grabbed six steals, which is notable because Hayfork is 11-1 when she posts at least three steals, but 6-8 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Lydia Yarbrough, who had six points in addition to ten steals and six rebounds.

Eagles

Previous 5 Games

02/26/25 vs Hayfork	28-63
02/19/25 vs Surprise Valley	61-38
02/11/25 vs Elk Creek	68-36
02/03/25 @ Paradise Adventist Academy	52-23
01/31/25 vs Loyalton	48-51

With the defeat, Princeton broke their three-game winning streak and moved their record to 12-10. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to assists: they averaged an imposing 12.67 assists in those games compared to only 3.95 in the others. As for Hayfork, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine matches. That's provided a massive bump to their 17-9 record this season.

Princeton does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Hayfork, they will challenge Chester at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Chester sitting on three straight victories and Hayfork on four.