The Monte Vista Mustangs pushed their score all the way to 57 on Thursday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell 66-57 to Liberty. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Monte Vista came into the match with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 251st, while Liberty is ranked 556th).
Several Mustangs players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Rachel Brans, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 13 rebounds. Brans scored a full 35.1% of Monte Vista's points, the fourth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Mahi Jariwala was another key contributor, scoring 16 points.
Liberty was led to victory by Shyanne Smith and Madison Perea. Smith scored 23 points along with four steals, while Perea dropped a double-double on 29 points and 11 rebounds. That's the first time this season that Smith scored 15 or more points. Another player making a difference was Lea Salinas beamen, who scored four points along with seven rebounds and five assists.
This is the second loss in a row for Monte Vista and nudges their season record down to 3-2. As for Liberty, their victory bumped their record up to 2-4.
Monte Vista will head out on the road to face off against Moreau Catholic at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Liberty won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Caruthers at 6:30 p.m. on December 15th.