Basketball Recap: Bethzy Quinones Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Piedra Vista

Las Cruces posted their closest win since January 30, 2024 on Saturday. They skirted past the Piedra Vista Panthers 48-45. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Bulldawgs.

Las Cruces' win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Bethzy Quinones, who went 6 for 15 on her way to 13 points and four steals. Quinones is crushing it when it comes to steals: she's grabbed at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Jaysha Hawkins was another key player, going 5 of 7 on her way to 10 points along with five assists and four steals.

Piedra Vista lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Tyra Holyan, who went 9 of 15 en route to 19 points. That was a full 42.2% of Piedra Vista's points, marking the fourth time in a row she's posted more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Karen Stanley, who went 5 of 6 on her way to 14 points.

Las Cruces has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.0 points per game. As for Piedra Vista, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-5.

Las Cruces will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Roswell at 12:30 p.m. on January 11th. As for Piedra Vista, they wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 64-53 loss against Los Lunas on the 2nd.