Basketball Recap: Diya Dharmashankar's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Evergreen Valley over Menlo School

On Saturday, the Evergreen Valley Cougars came up short against the Menlo School Knights and fell 48-40. The contest marked the Cougars' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.

Several Cougars players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Diya Dharmashankar, who posted 13 points and eight rebounds. That's the most boards Dharmashankar has posted since back in November of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of Rayleen Sandhu, who put up 13 points.

Menlo School's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Ruiqi Liu, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 14 rebounds. The game was Liu's fourth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Karen Xin, who had 17 points and five rebounds.

This is the second loss in a row for Evergreen Valley and nudges their season record down to 5-2. As for Menlo School, the win keeps them at an undefeated 8-0.

Evergreen Valley will take on Piedmont Hills in a holiday battle at at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Piedmont Hills' defense has only allowed 29 points per game this season, so Evergreen Valley's offense will have their work cut out for them. Menlo School and Menlo-Atherton will compete for holiday cheer at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. Menlo-Atherton will roll in looking for their fourth straight victory, something Menlo School surely won't give up without a fight.