Basketball Recap: Mikela Alvarado Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Dakota Ridge

Standley Lake won the last time they faced Dakota Ridge and things went their way on Wednesday too. The Standley Lake Gators took down the Dakota Ridge Eagles 55-40. Given the Gators' advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 67th, while the Eagles are ranked 200th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Standley Lake's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Mikela Alvarado, who went 7 of 9 on her way to 20 points and four steals. Those 20 points gave Alvarado a new career-high. Rae Coronado was another key player, going 5 for 11 en route to 13 points along with five assists and five steals.

Standley Lake was working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Dakota Ridge only posted ten assists.

Despite the defeat, Dakota Ridge saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Emery Bowman went 9 of 14 on her way to 18 points in addition to five rebounds and five steals. Bowman is trending in the right direction considering she's improved her point production for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Darian Lewis, who posted 14 points and six boards.

Standley Lake's victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 14-3. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 29.3 points per game. As for Dakota Ridge, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost six of their last eight contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-9 record this season.

Standley Lake has already played their next matchup, a 67-11 win against Pomona on the 1st. As for Dakota Ridge, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 48-32 loss against Colorado Academy on the 31st.