Sara Shigekawa commands the offense for Centurions win

By Team Reports Jan 17, 2024, 8:06am

Recap: Cypress Centurions vs. Kennedy Fighting Irish

The Cypress Centurions posted their closest victory yet this season on Friday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Kennedy 49-46. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win Cypress has posted against Kennedy since January 17, 2020.

Cypress' success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Sara Shigekawa led the charge by scoring 14 points. Another player making a difference was Isabella Caceres, who scored 12 points along with nine rebounds and five assists.

Despite the loss, Kennedy had strong showings from Ariana Navarro, who scored nine points along with six rebounds and five assists, and Riyin Stewart, who scored 11 points along with nine rebounds and two blocks. Navarro has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last 11 times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Madeleine Hsu, who scored ten points along with five rebounds.

Cypress has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a massive bump to their 10-10 record this season. As for Kennedy, they are on a five-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 8-11.

Cypress will be playing at home against Crean Lutheran at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Crean Lutheran is coming into the match hot, having won their last three games. Kennedy won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Palos Verdes at 5:45 p.m. on January 13th. Palos Verdes presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Kennedy in California (Palos Verdes is ranked 197th, while Kennedy is ranked 602nd).