The Clayton Valley Charter Ugly Eagles had to travel to play their first game of the season, but the final result was worth the trip. They managed a 65-60 win over Freedom on Saturday. Given Clayton Valley Charter's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 194th, while Freedom is ranked 717th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Clayton Valley Charter found their leader in underclassman Deoujenea Clay, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and 11 rebounds. Reagan Richards costello was another key contributor, scoring 8 points along with 7 rebounds.
Several Falcons players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Ariel De La O, who scored 27 points along with 8 rebounds and 4 steals. De La O scored a full 45% of Freedom's points, the second time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Eve Monzon, who scored 18 points along with 5 rebounds.
Clayton Valley Charter's victory bumped their record up to 1-0. As for Freedom, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 0-2.
Clayton Valley Charter will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against Dougherty Valley at 7:00 p.m. As for Freedom, they will head out on the road to face off against Amador Valley at 7:30 p.m. on Monday.
