Basketball Recap: Centennial Takes a Loss

Centennial and Sandia squared off in some playoff action on Friday, but Centennial had to settle for second. The match between the Centennial Hawks and the Sandia Matadors didn't end well, with the Centennial Hawks falling 59-42. While losing is never fun, the Hawks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New Mexico basketball rankings (they are ranked 31st, while the Matadors are ranked second).

Alanna Perrault

Points (Career)

03/07/25 vs Sandia	16
01/04/25 vs Roswell	12
12/26/24 vs Valencia	8
02/13/25 @ Gadsden	7
01/27/25 vs Gadsden	7

Despite the loss, Centennial still got an impressive performance from Alanna Perrault, who went 5-for-12 on her way to 16 points. Those 16 points gave Perrault a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Rizaya Cash, who posted five points.

Sydney Benally was her usual excellent self, shooting 52% from the field en route to 27 points in addition to six boards and three steals for Sandia. The contest was Benally's ninth in a row with at least 15 points. Another player making a difference was Nadia Randall, who dropped a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds.

Centennial has traveled a rocky road recently, having lost three of their last four games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 12-16 record this season. The win was the 14th in a row for Sandia, bringing their record for this year to 27-1.

Centennial does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Sandia, they will square off against Rio Rancho at 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday. Sandia knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past 13 matches -- so hopefully Rio Rancho likes a good challenge.