Basketball Recap: Kaylee Avila's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Argonaut over Liberty Ranch

If Argonaut was feeling good fresh off their 43-22 takedown of Galt last Thursday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Argonaut Mustangs took a 59-48 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Liberty Ranch Hawks on Monday. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Hawks this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 59-46 back in January.

Kaylee Avila

Points (Career)

02/10/25 vs Liberty Ranch	23
01/28/25 @ El Dorado	17
01/17/25 vs Galt	16
01/14/25 @ Liberty Ranch	15
12/11/24 vs Venture Academy	15

Argonaut lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Kaylee Avila, who went 10-for-20 en route to 23 points. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Alayna Critchfield, who posted six points in addition to 14 rebounds and four steals.

Even though they lost, Argonaut smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards every time they've taken the court this season.

Liberty Ranch's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Haley Smith, who almost dropped a double-double with 21 points and nine boards. Another player making a difference was Madisyn Robbins, who went 7-for-12 to rack up 14 points along with seven rebounds and five assists.

Argonaut's record is now 15-11. As for Liberty Ranch, the win (which was their 21st in a row) raised their record to 23-2.

Argonaut didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 61-47 victory against Rosemont on the 11th. As for Liberty Ranch, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next match, a 72-9 win against Bradshaw Christian on the 11th.