Basketball Recap: Sophia Hill's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Rio Mesa over Ventura

Rio Mesa lost against Ventura last Wednesday and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Thursday. The Rio Mesa Spartans might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 76-20 to the Ventura Cougars, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior. While losing is never fun, the Spartans can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 461st, while the Cougars are ranked 12th).

Rio Mesa lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Sophia Hill, who posted 12 points. That's the most points Hill has posted since back in December of 2024. Brianna Adams was another key player, putting up four points and six rebounds.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Ventura to victory, but perhaps none more so than Kailee Staniland, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 14 assists. Staniland is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last seven games she's played. Another player making a difference was Brinley Anderson, who put up 19 points in addition to seven boards and three steals.

Rio Mesa is on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 10-16. As for Ventura, the victory was the 24th in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 25-2.

Rio Mesa wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next contest, an 85-50 loss against Oxnard on the 1st. As for Ventura, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 75-32 win against Santa Barbara on the 1st.