Basketball Recap: Cleveland Falls Short Against Ranked Rio Rancho

On Thursday, Cleveland faced Rio Rancho in a battle between two of the state's top teams. The Cleveland Storm fell 66-54 to the Rio Rancho Rams. The loss continues a trend for the Storm in their meetings with the Rams: they've now lost seven in a row.

Savannah Madueno

Points

02/20/25 vs Rio Rancho	16
02/18/25 vs Volcano Vista	16
02/13/25 @ Piedra Vista	19

Despite the defeat, Cleveland had strong showings from Savannah Madueno, who went 5-for-7 on her way to 16 points, and Reagan Westenberger, who posted ten points and seven boards. The match was Madueno's third in a row with at least 16 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Malia Mose, who put up ten points.

Rio Rancho found their leader in freshman Madilynn Martinez, who shot 53% from the field en route to 26 points in addition to five assists and four steals. Martinez continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Daysia Jack, who went 6-for-14 to rack up 15 points.

Cleveland's loss dropped their record down to 13-13. As for Rio Rancho, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 17-9.

Cleveland wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next game, a 64-56 defeat against Piedra Vista on the 24th. As for Rio Rancho, they have also already played their next contest, a 69-34 win against Cibola on the 24th.