It was a good run, but the Phoenix Country Day Eagles unfortunately witnessed the end of their 26-game winning streak dating back to last season on Friday. They took a serious blow against Xavier College Prep, falling 82-36. While losing is never fun, Phoenix Country Day can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 31st, while Xavier College Prep is ranked third).
Several Eagles players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Olivia Owens, who scored 16 points along with five rebounds. Owens is absolutely dominating the point category: she's posted at least 15 every time she's taken the court this season. Aila Kaibara was another key contributor, scoring 13 points along with five rebounds and three steals.
Phoenix Country Day struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only three offensive rebounds. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Xavier College Prep pulled down 16 offensive rebounds.
Xavier College Prep's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Maureen Ulrich led the charge by scoring 14 points along with seven steals and five rebounds. Those seven steals set a new season-high mark for Ulrich. Another player making a difference was Sarah Miller, who scored 19 points along with five rebounds.
Phoenix Country Day's loss ended a ten-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 8-1. As for Xavier College Prep, their victory was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-0.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Phoenix Country Day will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Tempe Prep at 5:30 p.m. on January 3, 2024. As for Xavier College Prep, they will head out on the road to face off against Chandler at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully Chandler focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 22 on Monday.
