Basketball Recap: Argonaut Takes a Tough Playoff Loss

Argonaut and Encinal squared off in some playoff action on Tuesday, but Argonaut had to settle for second. They were dealt a 67-36 loss at the hands of the Encinal Jets. The Mustangs have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Alayna Critchfield

Rebounds

03/04/25 @ Encinal	15
02/25/25 @ Woodland Christian	15
02/20/25 vs Ripon Christian	12
02/18/25 vs Westlake Charter	15
02/13/25 vs Amador	14
+ 24 more games

Despite the defeat, Argonaut saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Alayna Critchfield dropped a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds. Critchfield is crushing it when it comes to boards: she's pulled down at least eight every time she's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Brynn Begovich, who posted ten points.

It was another big night for Jazzy Alcantar, who almost dropped a double-double with 19 points and nine rebounds for Encinal. The dominant performance also gave Alcantar a new career-high in three-point shooting accuracy (75%). Brooklynn Lacy was another key player, putting up nine points and four steals.

Argonaut's loss dropped their record down to 19-13. As for Encinal, they are on a roll lately: they've won 13 of their last 15 matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 20-9 record this season.

Argonaut does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Encinal, they will face off against Orland at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Encinal is on an eight-game streak of home wins, Orland a three-game streak of away wins -- so someone will have to leave a streak behind on the court.