After a string of seven wins, the Peoria Panthers's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They were outmatched by Estrella Foothills at home and fell 64-33. While losing is never fun, Peoria can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 86th, while Estrella Foothills is ranked 29th).
Peoria's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Cieraka Lynch, who scored eight points along with three steals. Lynch has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. Harmony Re was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with five rebounds and two steals.
Estrella Foothills was led to victory by Nemo Sidhu and Alina Bowden. Sidhu scored 20 points, while Bowden scored 22 points along with eight rebounds and five steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Bowden has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Eva Amenhauser, who scored eight points along with 12 rebounds and eight assists.
Peoria's defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 14-6. As for Estrella Foothills, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 20-3.
Peoria won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Deer Valley at 7:00 p.m. on January 19th. Deer Valley will be looking to keep their four-game home win streak alive. Estrella Foothills won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Agua Fria at 7:00 p.m. on January 19th. Agua Fria is also coming in off of a big victory, so somebody is in for a big reversal of fortune.
