Basketball Recap: Yareli Martinez Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Sedgwick

Fairfield proved they can win big on Thursday (they won by 39) and on Friday they proved they can win the close ones too. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past the Sedgwick Cardinals 37-34. This was payback for the Falcons, who suffered a 40-38 defeat the last time these two teams met.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Fairfield to victory, but perhaps none more so than Yareli Martinez, who posted eight points along with eight rebounds and three steals. Those eight boards gave Martinez a new career-high. Fatima Espinosa also deserves some recognition as she posted her first block of the season.

Fairfield smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in five consecutive contests.

When it comes to explaining why Sedgwick lost, don't look at Logan Budde. Despite the final result, she went 6 for 14 on her way to 18 points in addition to five rebounds and four steals. That was a full 52.9% of Sedgwick's points, marking the fifth time in a row she's put up more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Alivia Burns, who earned three points along with eight boards and four blocks.

Fairfield's record is now 5-6. As for Sedgwick, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 3-6.

Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Fairfield will square off against Chase on Monday. Fairfield is facing Chase at the right time seeing as Chase is stuck on an 11-game losing streak. As for Sedgwick, they will face off against Goessel at 6:00 p.m. on January 31st.