Basketball Game Preview: Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences Vipers vs. East Valley Falcons

vs

Previous Games

12/09/24 - Home	31-18 W
01/22/24 - Home	52-19 W
12/11/23 - Away	51-31 W
01/26/23 - Home	39-31 W
12/12/22 - Away	45-33 W
+ 5 more games

Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences is 10-0 against East Valley since January of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences Vipers will take on the East Valley Falcons at 3:00 p.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Sherman Oaks CES on Thursday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences was outmatched by Sherman Oaks CES and fell 79-33. The Vipers were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 47-9.

Despite the loss, Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences got top-tier performance from Lara Ledesma, who posted 26 points. That was a full 78.8% of Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences' points, marking the eighth time in a row she's had more than a third of the team's points.

Meanwhile, East Valley was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They fell 31-19 to Fulton.

Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences will have to keep a close watch on Milan Riley and Katie Shin, a pair of players who had a big impact on East Valley's prior game. Riley dropped a double-double on 16 boards and 11 blocks, while Shin put up seven points along with eight rebounds and eight steals. With that strong performance, Riley is now averaging an impressive 3 blocks per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Esther Chong, who scored four points in addition to seven rebounds and four steals.

Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences has been struggling recently as they've lost five of their last six matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-8 record this season. As for East Valley, their record is now 2-4.

Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences was able to grind out a solid win over East Valley in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, winning 31-18. The rematch might be a little tougher for Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.