Basketball Recap: Ashleigh Hanson's Big Game Can't Quite Lead San Tan Foothills over Vista Grande

San Tan Foothills came up into this matchup off a tough 27-point defeat last Friday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of the Vista Grande Spartans by a score of 34-31 on Saturday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Sabercats have suffered since December 15, 2023.

San Tan Foothills lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Ashleigh Hanson, who posted ten points and eight boards. The dominant performance gave Hanson a new career-high in rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Jeilexandria Esquivel, who earned eight points and five rebounds.

Even though they lost, San Tan Foothills smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've managed all season.

Vista Grande's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Daniella Valenzuela, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and 12 boards. Valenzuela is crushing it when it comes to rebounds: she's pulled down at least eight every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Akayla Hernandez, who had seven points in addition to five rebounds and three steals.

This is the second loss in a row for San Tan Foothills and nudges their season record down to 2-2. As for Vista Grande, their win bumped their record up to 3-6.

San Tan Foothills wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next matchup, a 61-28 victory against Apache Junction on the 16th. As for Vista Grande, they will have some time to savor their win since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Marcos de Niza at 10:00 a.m. on December 27th.