It was a good run, but the Shadow Ridge Mustangs unfortunately witnessed the end of their four-game winning streak on Friday. They opened the new year with a less-than-successful 49-42 loss to Orangewood Academy.
When it comes to explaining why Shadow Ridge lost, one person who can't be blamed is Zh'mya Martin. Despite the final result, she scored 21 points. Martin scored a full 50% of Shadow Ridge's points, the sixth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Jaslyn Jefferson was another key contributor, scoring ten points.
Orangewood Academy's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Alissa Belen led the charge by scoring 13 points. That makes it three consecutive games in which Belen has scored at least 25% of Orangewood Academy's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Vivian Grenald, who scored 14 points.
Shadow Ridge's defeat dropped their record down to 8-4. As for Orangewood Academy, their win bumped their record up to 11-4.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Shadow Ridge will take on Spring Valley at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Spring Valley has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last four games. Orangewood Academy won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Bishop Gorman at 5:00 p.m. on January 6th. Bishop Gorman will be looking to keep their four-game home win streak alive.
