Basketball Recap: Foothill Takes a Loss

Foothill lost against Pleasant Valley back in January of 2024 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. The Foothill Cougars were outmatched by the Pleasant Valley Vikings and fell 87-47. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 244th, while the Vikings are ranked 27th).

Despite the loss, Foothill still got an impressive performance from Kalli Smith, who went 8 of 16 en route to 19 points and seven boards. That was a full 40.4% of Foothill's points, marking the third time in a row she's posted more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Mj O'Rorke, who scored nine points and five rebounds.

Cougars

Previous 2 Games

01/24/25 @ Pleasant Valley	47-87
01/21/25 vs Enterprise	65-76

Even though they lost, Foothill smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in six consecutive matches.

It was another big night for Aj Gambol, who went 10 for 21 on her way to 31 points along with eight boards and seven assists for Pleasant Valley. That's the most rebounds Gambol has posted since back in January of 2024. Nyah Fortune was another key player, going 5 of 9 en route to 11 points and three steals.

Foothill has traveled a rocky road recently having lost five of their last six contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-10 record this season. As for Pleasant Valley, they pushed their record up to 18-4 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home.

Foothill wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next game, a 58-54 victory against University Prep on the 27th. As for Pleasant Valley, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next matchup, a 45-33 win against Shasta on the 30th.