It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact the Dinuba Emperors can now relate to. They fell 49-41 to the Saints on Friday.
When it comes to explaining why Dinuba lost, one person who can't be blamed is Jalissa Espirito. Despite the final result, she scored 15 points along with eight rebounds. Espirito has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last five times she's played. Peyton Acevedo was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with six rebounds.
Santa Maria's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Nevaeh Madrigal led the charge by scoring 15 points along with eight steals and five rebounds. Madrigal hasn't dropped below four steals for three straight games. Another player making a difference was Brianna Vasquez, who scored 13 points along with three steals.
Dinuba has not been sharp recently as the team has lost three of their last four matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 16-13 record this season. As for Santa Maria, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 16-14.
Dinuba does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Santa Maria, they will head out on the road to square off against Immanuel at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Immanuel will roll in looking for their sixth straight victory, something Santa Maria surely won't give up without a fight.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
