On Friday, the Volcano Vista Hawks faced the Sandia Matadors in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Volcano Vista came out on top against Sandia by a score of 52-44. The win was familiar territory for Volcano Vista who now have three in a row.
Volcano Vista had a senior duo take command as Taejhuan "TT" Hill dropped a double-double on 20 points and 16 rebounds and Lilliana Duncan scored ten points along with six rebounds and five steals. Duncan is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Mila Espinoza was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with five rebounds and four steals.
When it comes to explaining why Sandia lost, one person who can't be blamed is Sydney Benally. Despite the final result, she scored 19 points along with two steals. Benally has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last ten times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Hope Giddings, who scored 11 points along with eight rebounds and two steals.
Volcano Vista is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 10-5 record this season. As for Sandia, their defeat dropped their record down to 12-1.
Volcano Vista's road trip will continue as they head out to face La Cueva at 6:00 p.m. on January 13th. La Cueva will be looking to extend their current eight-game winning streak. Sandia won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Hobbs at 2:00 p.m. on January 13th. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in New Mexico (Hobbs is ranked first, while Sandia is ranked third).
