The Albuquerque Academy Chargers were the 53-49 winner over the Rio Grande Ravens when they last played one another last Friday, but their luck changed this time around. Albuquerque Academy was just a bucket shy of victory on Saturday and fell 38-37 to Rio Grande. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Albuquerque Academy came into the contest with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' New Mexico basketball rankings (they are ranked 31st, while Rio Grande is ranked 99th).
Albuquerque Academy lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Noelani Montoya, who scored nine points along with six rebounds and two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Addie Spratley, who scored nine points along with seven rebounds and three steals.
This is the second loss in a row for Albuquerque Academy and nudges their season record down to 8-4. As for Rio Grande, their victory bumped their record up to 6-9.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Albuquerque Academy on the road again on Tuesday and play against St. Pius X at 7:00 p.m. on January 16th. St. Pius X will be looking to extend their current three-game winning streak. As for Rio Grande, Rio Grande and Valley will face off at 7:00 p.m. on January 18th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Valley is out to stop a three-game streak of losses at home.
