Merced has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They took a 55-46 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Los Banos Tigers on Tuesday. The Bears were not able to repeat the success they had when they faced the Tigers earlier this season, when they won 53-45.

Averie Steverson
| 02/03/26 vs Los Banos | 12 |
| 01/29/26 @ El Capitan | 8 |
| 01/27/26 vs Golden Valley | 12 |
When it comes to explaining why Merced lost, don't look at Averie Steverson. Despite the final result, she dropped a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Steverson has been hot recently, having posted eight or more boards the last three times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Aubrey Supinger, who posted eight points.
Merced's defeat dropped their record down to 16-8. As for Los Banos, their victory bumped their record up to 13-10.
Merced wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next matchup, a 76-43 win against Buhach Colony on the 5th. As for Los Banos, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 53-31 victory against Golden Valley on the 5th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps