The Esperanza Aztecs entered their tilt with the Harvard-Westlake Wolverines with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. Esperanza managed a 55-51 victory over Harvard-Westlake on Thursday. Given Esperanza's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 29th, while Harvard-Westlake is ranked 346th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Esperanza's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Madilyn Lam led the charge by scoring 22 points along with four steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which Lam has scored at least 25% of Esperanza's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Charlotte Muller, who scored 11 points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Harvard-Westlake's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Deana Thompson, who dropped a double-double on 28 points and 11 rebounds, and Valentina Guerrero who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 13 rebounds. The match was Thompson's sixth in a row with at least ten points. Angelina Habis was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with ten rebounds and five assists.
Esperanza pushed their record up to 3-0 with that victory, which was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.0 points per game. As for Harvard-Westlake, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-6.
Esperanza will face off against Santiago at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. As for Harvard-Westlake, they will face off against Louisville at 8:30 p.m. on Monday.
