Basketball Recap: Desert Oasis Takes a Loss

If Desert Oasis was riding high fresh off their 65-29 takedown of Pahrump Valley last Tuesday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Desert Oasis Diamondbacks fell 53-44 to the Coronado Cougars on Thursday. The result was an unpleasant reminder to the Diamondbacks of the 53-47 defeat they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in January of 2024.

Despite the loss, Desert Oasis saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Kayleigh Upham went 7 of 17 en route to 16 points and seven boards. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Upham has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Kazel Jones, who posted six points and six rebounds.

Scarlet Lopez continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines for Coronado, putting up 13 points and seven steals. Lopez is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last four games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayliana Glothon, who put up 16 points in addition to five boards and three steals.

Desert Oasis has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-8 record this season. As for Coronado, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 9-7.

Desert Oasis won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Sierra Vista at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Sierra Vista is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 50.7 points per game this season. As for Coronado, they will challenge Bishop Gorman at 12:00 p.m. on Monday. Bishop Gorman also hasn't been messing around on offense: they've averaged 61.1 points per game.