The St. Paul Swordsmen's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Thursday after their eighth straight loss. They were outmatched by St. Anthony at home and fell 72-32. While losing is never fun, St. Paul can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 282nd, while the Saints are ranked 22nd).
St. Anthony had a senior duo take command as Melaiah Joseph scored 21 points and Ryann Bennett scored 13 points along with six steals. Bennett has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last four times she's played. Anaya Tunu was another key contributor, scoring six points along with seven rebounds and five steals.
St. Paul has been struggling recently as they've lost ten of their last 11 matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-17 record this season. As for St. Anthony, the victory was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 20-7.
St. Paul won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against the Tigers at 5:00 p.m. on February 2nd. The timing is sure in South Pasadena's favor as the team sits on eight straight wins at home while the Swordsmen have been banged up by five consecutive losses on the road. St. Anthony will take on the Mustangs at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.
