Basketball Recap: Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences Comes Up Short

Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They were two points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 41-39 heartbreaker at the hands of the Vaughn White Tigers. The Vipers lost against the White Tigers in their previous head to head back in February of 2024, too, but the margin this time around was much closer than the 64-36 score last time.

Despite the loss, Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences still got an impressive performance from Lara Ledesma, who posted 20 points. That was a full 51.3% of Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences' points, marking the 12th time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.

Vaughn's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Milly Castro, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 12 steals. Castro is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last seven games she's played. Estefany Contreras was another key player, dropping a double-double on 19 boards and ten blocks.

Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences' loss dropped their record down to 3-11. As for Vaughn, the victory was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 6-12.

The teams didn't have to wait long for a rematch: Vaughn beat Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences by a score of 37-24 on Monday.