Basketball Recap: Thatcher Comes Up Short

Thatcher lost against Valley Christian back in February of 2023 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. The Thatcher Eagles were dealt a 94-41 defeat at the hands of the Valley Christian Trojans. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 140th, while the Trojans are ranked 15th).

When it comes to explaining why Thatcher lost, don't look at Isaac Palmer. Despite the final result, he went 6 for 13 on his way to 14 points and six boards. What's more, Palmer also racked up two blocks, the most he's had since back in December of 2024.

Valley Christian's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Kyle Grier led the charge by dropping a double-double on 21 points and 12 rebounds. Another player making a difference was Carson Grier, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and ten boards.

This is the second loss in a row for Thatcher and nudges their season record down to 11-9. As for Valley Christian, they are on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 12 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 14-3 record this season.

Thatcher didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 69-21 victory against Andrada Polytechnic on the 21st. As for Valley Christian, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next contest, an 85-57 win against Snowflake on the 18th.