Basketball Recap: Grand Canyon Takes a Loss

If Grand Canyon was riding high fresh off their 55-30 takedown of Arcadia on Thursday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Grand Canyon Phantoms were outmatched by the Ironwood Ridge Nighthawks and fell 59-26. While losing is never fun, the Phantoms can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 231st, while the Nighthawks are ranked 89th).

When it comes to explaining why Grand Canyon lost on Thursday, don't look at Jaemie Jensen. Despite the final result, she posted 16 points in addition to eight boards and seven steals. That was a full 61.5% of Grand Canyon's points, marking the ninth time in a row she's had more than a third of the team's points.

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Previous 1 Games

01/02/25 - Neutral

26-59 L

Even though they lost, Grand Canyon smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in four consecutive matchups.

Jaidyn Saucedo continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines for Ironwood Ridge, going 5 of 9 on her way to 12 points and seven assists. That's the most assists Saucedo has posted since back in February of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Myla Elslager, who put up six points and four steals.

Grand Canyon now has a losing record at 4-5. As for Ironwood Ridge, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 7-6.

Grand Canyon wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next game, a 55-25 loss against Rio Rico on the 3rd. As for Ironwood Ridge, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 51-23 defeat against Sunrise Mountain on the 3rd.