Basketball Recap: Pahrump Valley Comes Up Short

Pahrump Valley played a tough match on Thursday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They took a blow against the Murrieta Valley Nighthawks, falling 54-26. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Trojans came into the contest with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 63rd in Nevada, while the Nighthawks are ranked 358th in California).

Pahrump Valley got a good chunk of their points from the dynamic duo of Riley Saldana and Ryleigh Denton, who each put up ten points. Saldana also led the team in rebounds with nine.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Murrieta Valley to victory, but perhaps none more so than Valerie Lauritzen, who went 7 of 16 on her way to 14 points in addition to five assists and four steals. Lauritzen has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last 17 times she's played. Another player making a difference was Peyton Axene, who posted nine points in addition to seven boards and six steals.

Pahrump Valley now has a losing record at 3-4. As for Murrieta Valley, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 8-5 record this season.

Pahrump Valley wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next match, a 34-29 defeat against Spring Creek on the 19th. Murrieta Valley has also already played their next contest, a 64-31 victory against Mohave Accelerated on the 20th.