Esperanza finds playoff glory versus Valley View

By Team Reports Feb 21, 2024, 8:06am

Recap: Esperanza Aztecs vs. Valley View Eagles

It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but the Esperanza Aztecs had no problem doing just that on Thursday. They breezed by the Eagles at home to the tune of 70-37. Esperanza has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 14 matchups by 22 points or more this season.

Esperanza was led to victory by Madilyn Lam and Charlotte Muller. Lam scored 18 points along with eight assists and eight rebounds, while Muller scored 24 points along with four steals. Lam has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last six times she's played. Another player making a difference was Alexa Muller, who scored eight points along with seven assists and three steals.

Despite the loss, Valley View still got an impressive performance from Mason Long, who scored 27 points along with five steals. That was a full 73% of Valley View's points, marking the seventh time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.

Valley View struggled to work together and finished the game with only four assists. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Esperanza racked up 21 assists.

The win (which was Esperanza's fifth in a row) raised their record to 25-4. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.2 points per game. As for Valley View, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 15-14 record this season.

Esperanza will face off against Lynwood at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Lynwood is on a five-game streak of home wins, Esperanza a four-game streak of away wins -- so someone will have to leave a streak behind on the court. Valley View does not have any more games scheduled as of now.

Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps