Basketball Recap: Paulina Lucero Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Yucca Valley

There's no place like home for Coachella Valley, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Tuesday. They snuck past the Yucca Valley Trojans with a 54-49 win on Thursday. This was a revenge game for the Mighty Arabs: when they faced off against the Trojans last Tuesday, they had to take a 55-40 defeat.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Coachella Valley to victory, but perhaps none more so than Paulina Lucero, who posted 14 points along with eight boards and three steals. The dominant performance also gave Lucero a new career-high in blocks (two). Another player making a difference was Mariah Figueroa, who almost dropped a double-double on 16 points and nine rebounds.

Coachella Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 3.5 offensive rebounds per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 contests they've averaged 13.3.

Coachella Valley pushed their record up to 16-6 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.0 points per game. As for Yucca Valley, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-13 record this season.

Coachella Valley will venture away from home to square off against Indio at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Coachella Valley is facing Indio at the right time seeing as Indio is stuck on a 15-game losing streak. As for Yucca Valley, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Twentynine Palms at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Twentynine Palms will roll in looking for their ninth straight win, something Yucca Valley surely won't give up without a fight.