Basketball Recap: Desert Pines Takes a Loss

After flying high against Cornerstone Christian on Friday, Desert Pines came back down to earth. The Desert Pines Jaguars fell just short of the Salem Academy Crusaders by a score of 54-52 on Saturday.

When it comes to explaining why Desert Pines lost, don't look at Taveah Oliver. Despite the final result, she went 9 of 21 on her way to 19 points along with eight steals and five boards. Oliver's morning made it three games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Mya Harper, who posted 12 points and three steals.

Desert Pines' defeat dropped their record down to 5-3. As for Salem Academy, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 7-1.

Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Desert Pines and Bellevue will round out the year against one another at at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Desert Pines is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 57.7 points per game this season. As for Salem Academy, they will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Stanfield at 1:00 p.m. on January 2, 2025.