After flying high against San Lorenzo Valley on Saturday, Aptos came back down to earth. The Mariners received a blow on Monday as they fell 52-38 to the Santa Cruz Cardinals. While losing is never fun, the Mariners can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 628th, while the Cardinals are ranked 259th).
Despite the loss, Aptos saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Isabella Alvarez posted 16 points. That was a full 42.1% of the Mariners' points, marking the third time in a row Alvarez has had more than a third of the team's points. Emi Gansaeur Pilcher was another key player, putting up eight points.
Kina Espinosa continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines for Santa Cruz, dropping a double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Those 24 points gave Espinosa a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Mila Conn, who put up 15 points and three steals.
Aptos' defeat dropped their record down to 10-10. As for Santa Cruz, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 13-7 record this season.
Aptos will take on Harbor at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The Mariners are facing the Pirates at the right time seeing as the Pirates are stuck on a three-game losing streak. As for Santa Cruz, they will challenge Scotts Valley at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The Cardinals will need to watch out since the Falcons have now posted at least 55 points in their last three matchups.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
