Basketball Recap: Rio Mesa Comes Up Short

Rio Mesa was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They were dealt a 70-29 defeat at the hands of the Oxnard Yellowjackets. While losing is never fun, the Spartans can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 583rd, while the Yellowjackets are ranked 93rd).

Despite the loss, Rio Mesa still got an impressive performance from Nayeli Alfaro, who went 5 of 12 en route to 14 points. The dominant performance gave Alfaro a new career-high in points. Sophia Hill was another key player, putting up seven points.

Oxnard's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Kayla Lumas, who went 6 for 10 on her way to 16 points in addition to five assists and four steals. Lumas' afternoon made it six games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Sofia Salgado, who went 5 of 12 en route to 13 points and six boards.

Rio Mesa's loss dropped their record down to 7-12. As for Oxnard, their win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-5.

Rio Mesa didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next matchup, a 47-45 victory against Pacifica on the 14th. Oxnard has also already played their next contest (against Dos Pueblos), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing.