Basketball Recap: Yuma Proves Higher State Rank Is No Mistake

While Yuma didn't have the best season last year (they finished 6-10), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They strolled past the Desert Sunrise Golden Hawks with points to spare on Tuesday, taking the game 56-38. Given the Criminals' advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 104th, while the Golden Hawks are ranked 218th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Yuma can attribute much of their success to Legend Redmond, who went 7 for 11 on her way to 15 points and six steals. Redmond is crushing it when it comes to steals: she's grabbed at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Naveah Hawkins was another key player, putting up four points along with nine rebounds and five steals.

Desert Sunrise lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Shayla Hill, who posted eight points and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Tessani Montgomery, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 11 boards.

Yuma has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 6-2 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 50.5 points per game. As for Desert Sunrise, their loss was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 6-8.

Yuma didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 55-38 defeat against Dysart on the 13th. As for Desert Sunrise, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next match, a 66-19 loss against Cactus Shadows on the 8th.