San Manuel sophomore Aubrey Encinas and junior Victoria Zazueta combined for 42 points in the 22nd-ranked Lady Miners lopsided 60 – 13 win against visiting San Miguel last Tuesday night. The win extended San Manuel’s winning streak to five games.
The 13 points allowed by San Manuel matched a season-best, which it also accomplished on Jan. 9 versus Superior. It was the third time this season the Lady Miners limited an opponent to 16 points or less.
“(An) all-around great performance against San Miguel is what to expect from the Lady Miners when they’re all on the same frequency [and] playing for one another,” San Manuel head coach Rome Porras-Romero told the Miner. “(We) controlled the pace from the get-go and constantly looked for ways to get each other involved.”
Senior Araceli Curry finished with eight points and seven assists. In addition to her game-high 27 points, Encinas added 13 rebounds. Zazueta, who scored 15 points, finished with nine rebounds, 11 assists and four steals. Natalye Pinedo, a sophomore, had a team-high seven steals.
The Lady Miners winning streak was snapped in their next game, a 26 – 24 loss at
Tombstone. No. 3 San Carlos defeated San Manuel last Friday night, 98 – 15.
Despite consecutive losses for the first time in three weeks, San Manuel can benefit from some humble pie.
“We played two very aggressive teams back-to-back, and I think the losses taught us that we can’t take anything for granted,” Porras-Romero said. “We realize that there are no easy wins this late in the season and we are dedicated to getting back to our winning ways.”
Up next: Jan. 23 at Ray, Jan. 24 vs. Santa Rita and Jan. 28 at Globe. All games are scheduled to tipoff at 5:30 p.m.
