Basketball Recap: Arleta Comes Up Short

If Arleta was feeling good fresh off their 63-22 takedown of Chavez last Monday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Arleta Mustangs fell to the Verdugo Hills Dons 58-53. The Mustangs were not able to repeat the success they had when they faced the Dons earlier this season, when they won 44-40.

Victoria Eufracio

Rebounds (Career)

02/12/25 @ Verdugo Hills	18
12/26/23 vs Santa Paula	17
01/04/25 vs Cleveland	16
01/29/25 vs Verdugo Hills	14
12/02/23 @ San Marino	14

Despite the loss, Arleta still got an impressive performance from Victoria Eufracio, who dropped a double-double with 16 points and 18 boards. The dominant performance gave Eufracio a new career-high in rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Aakira Smith, who dropped a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards.

Even though they lost, Arleta smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 32 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in 31 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.

Verdugo Hills' win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Amiyya Castanos, who posted 21 points in addition to five assists and five steals. Castanos has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last nine times she's played. Rayleen Castanos was another key player, dropping a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Arleta's loss dropped their record down to 18-8. As for Verdugo Hills, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 20-6 record this season.

Arleta has already played their next contest, a 52-44 defeat against Garfield on the 14th. As for Verdugo Hills, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next matchup, a 54-21 victory against Poly on the 14th.