After flying high against Buhach Colony last Tuesday, Merced came back down to earth. The Merced Bears had to suffer through a 75-25 loss at the hands of the Atwater Falcons. The defeat continues a trend for the Bears in their matchups with the Falcons: they've now lost nine in a row.
Despite the loss, Merced saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Averie Steverson posted 11 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Samantha Barragan, who had five points.
Atwater's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jolie Hart led the charge by going 7 of 14 en route to 16 points along with eight rebounds and seven assists. The dominant performance gave Hart a new career-high in boards. Madison Hiler was another key player, going 6 for 8 on her way to 15 points in addition to five rebounds and four steals.
Merced's defeat dropped their record down to 12-9. As for Atwater, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 14 of their last 16 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 18-4 record this season.
Merced has already played their next match, a 66-55 victory against Golden Valley on the 28th. As for Atwater, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 103-5 win against Buhach Colony on the 28th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
