Basketball Recap: Santa Rosa Comes Up Short

After flying high against Raton last Thursday, Santa Rosa came back down to earth. The Santa Rosa Lions took a 46-40 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Clayton Yellowjackets. The Lions were not able to repeat the success they had when they faced the Yellowjackets earlier this season, when they won 37-22.

Willow Johnson

Rebounds

02/08/25 @ Clayton	13
01/11/25 vs Navajo Pine	12
12/19/24 @ Menaul	10
01/23/25 vs Clayton	8
12/07/24 vs Corona/Vaughn	8
+ 15 more games

Despite the defeat, Santa Rosa saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Willow Johnson dropped a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Santa Rosa is 2-1 when Johnson posts ten or more boards, but 7-12 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Bailey Johnson, who posted seven points and 14 rebounds.

Santa Rosa's loss was their third straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 9-13. As for Clayton, their victory bumped their record up to 7-14.

Coming up, Santa Rosa will host Tucumcari at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. One thing working in Tucumcari's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last three matches. As for Clayton, they are taking a road trip to take on Estancia at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.