Basketball Recap: Amaya Garcia's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Centennial over Sangre De Cristo

After flying high against Hanover last Saturday, Centennial came back down to earth. The Centennial Rams fell 43-32 to the Sangre de Cristo Thunderbirds on Thursday. The Rams were not able to repeat the success they had when they faced the Thunderbirds earlier this season, when they won 35-16.

Amaya Garcia

Rebounds

02/27/25 vs Sangre de Cristo	15
02/22/25 vs Hanover	15
02/20/25 @ Primero	10
02/18/25 vs Creede	14
02/15/25 vs Lake City Community	12
+ 10 more games

Centennial lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Amaya Garcia, who dropped a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds. She has been hot for a while, having posted ten or more boards the last 15 times she's played. Anai Medina was another key player, almost dropping a double-double with 18 points and nine steals.

Even though they lost, Centennial smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 29 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 34 consecutive contests dating back to last season.

Haylee Freel had a dynamite game for Sangre de Cristo, putting up 27 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaydra Cordova, who posted nine points.

Centennial's loss dropped their record down to 10-8. As for Sangre de Cristo, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches. That's provided a massive bump to their 7-13 record this season.

Centennial wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next game, a 46-32 defeat against Custer County on the 28th. As for Sangre de Cristo, they have also already played their next contest, a 31-23 victory against Crested Butte on the 28th.