Basketball Recap: Ariana Navarro Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Lucerne Valley

It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Kennedy had no problem doing just that on Thursday. They enjoyed a cozy 41-22 win over the Lucerne Valley Mustangs. Given the Fighting Irish's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 450th, while the Mustangs are ranked 1007th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Ariana Navarro

Steals (Career)

02/13/25 vs Lucerne Valley	9
12/21/23 vs University Pathways Medical Magnet	8
12/12/24 @ Yorba Linda	7
12/29/23 @ Winslow	7
12/27/23 vs Pinecrest Academy Cadence	6

Kennedy's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Ariana Navarro led the charge by putting up eight points along with nine steals and six boards. Those nine steals gave Navarro a new career-high. Liz Tirona was another key player, earning eight points in addition to six steals and five assists.

Kennedy is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 15-12 record this season. As for Lucerne Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 16-9.

As of now, neither Kennedy nor Lucerne Valley have any future games scheduled.