Basketball Recap: Newark Memorial Takes a Loss

Newark Memorial lost against American back in December of 2024 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Wednesday. The Newark Memorial Cougars took a 53-45 hit to the loss column at the hands of the American Eagles. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 712th, while the Eagles are ranked 169th).

Despite the loss, Newark Memorial still got an impressive performance from Angelina Baca, who posted 22 points. Baca is trending in the right direction considering she's improved her point production for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Mai Weeks, who scored 11 points.

American's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Shirina Shi, who had 22 points in addition to six boards and three steals. The matchup was Shi's 12th in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Anika Batra, who almost dropped a double-double on 16 points and nine rebounds.

Newark Memorial has been struggling recently as they've lost five of their last six contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-14 record this season. As for American, the win was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 16-4.

Newark Memorial wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next game, a 31-30 victory against Irvington on the 31st. As for American, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next match, a 59-48 win against James Logan on the 31st.