The Central Bobcats struggled with assists on Friday (the North Mustangs had 16 more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Central was beaten by North 78-51. Central lost against North in their previous head to head back in December of 2022, too, but the margin this time around was much wider than the 49-21 score last time.
When it comes to explaining why Central lost, one person who can't be blamed is Lia Sims. Despite the final result, she scored 40 points along with nine rebounds and six steals. Sims scored a full 78.4% of Central's points, the 16th time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Valeria Valenzuela, who scored four points along with five rebounds.
North's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Saniyah Downing, who scored 20 points along with six assists and five rebounds. Those 20 points set a new season-high mark for her. Ayanna Goode was another key contributor, scoring 20 points along with eight rebounds and five assists.
Central's defeat dropped their record down to 6-10. As for North, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a massive bump to their 8-7 record this season.
Central will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on South Mountain at 5:30 p.m. on January 9, 2024. South Mountain is coming into the match hot, having won their last three games. North will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Alhambra at 7:00 p.m. on January 9, 2024. Alhambra is coming into the match on a five-game losing streak.
