Basketball Recap: Heritage Comes Up Short

After flying high against Paloma Valley last Tuesday, Heritage came back down to earth. The Heritage Patriots fell to the Valley View Eagles 65-61. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Patriots came into the matchup with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 150th, while the Eagles are ranked 302nd).

When it comes to explaining why Heritage lost on Thursday, don't look at Sierra Maxwell. Despite the final result, she went 11 for 26 en route to 29 points in addition to seven rebounds and six steals. Maxwell continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. Tamia Jackson was another key player, going 5 of 9 on her way to 13 points.

Valley View's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Tiana Washington led the charge by dropping a double-double on 19 points and 13 boards. That's the most rebounds Washington has posted since back in November of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of Mason Long, who went 9 for 18 en route to 22 points and four steals.

Heritage dropped their record down to 16-7 with the loss, which was their fourth straight on the road. As for Valley View, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 14-11 record this season.

Heritage will be playing at home against Moreno Valley at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Valley View, they will head out to take on Rancho Christian at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.