Lady Trojans extend win-streak to seven, defeat league rivals — PHOTOS
The brief confidence The Meadows displayed coming into Pahrump was momentarily put on pause as Riley Saldana wrangled the Mustangs herself last Wednesday.
Dropping 28 points, the junior shot 46% from the field and nearly was a rebound shy of a double-double.
“We kind of just let our offense run itself,” Saldana said. “Usually we force the ball, but today we took our time, passed it, swung the ball, and actually ran the offense the right way.”
Trojans sophomore Kaitlyn Brown contributed 16 points and nine rebounds as the Trojans ran away with a 56-32 league victory at home over the Mustangs.
Pahrump Valley wasted little time, outscoring their opposition 18-8 in the first quarter.
Following a quick opening three-pointer by the Meadows, the Trojans (10-7, 5-2 3A Southern League) responded immediately.
Brown knocked down a three to tie the game, and Saldana took control from there.
The Trojans surged ahead behind Saldana’s aggressive play in the paint, scoring on multiple layups and conversions at the free-throw line.
Trojans sophomore Addi Nelsen also chipped in with a timely three-pointer, while Pahrump’s defense limited the Meadows (2-7, 2-5 3A Southern League) to just a handful of clean looks.
The Trojans further extended the lead in the second quarter, forcing a slew of turnovers while capitalizing smoothly in transition.
Brown drained another three-pointer and followed it up with a steal and layup off an in-bounds pass.
A full-court press defensive scheme over the final minutes of the half caused problems for the Meadows as Saldana continued to finish strong at the rim.
By halftime, Pahrump Valley was firmly in control, leading 32–15.
The Trojans showed zero signs of slowing down in the third quarter.
Saldana’s offensive domination would not falter, scoring repeatedly on layups and cleaning up misses with offensive rebounds.
The Trojans defense did a great job staying to their assignments and remained locked in, holding the Meadows to a quarter-high of only 10 points.
By the end of the third quarter, Pahrump Valley had built a commanding 46–25 advantage, led by the Trojans’ suffocating defense and Saldana’s offensive outburst.
Closing out the fourth quarter strongly, Nelsen came up with a steal and finish while Sydney Crotty converted at the free-throw line, and Cindal Monahan capped the night with a layup as Pahrump continued to control the pace.
The Meadows would manage a few more baskets, including a three from freshman Jessica Bevacqua, but the outcome was never in doubt.
When asked abut the Trojans’ current position as third in the conference, Saldana couldn’t help but beam from ear to ear.
“It means a lot. If you look at who we were last year compared to this year, it’s a big difference. The preparation has been huge,” Saldana said. “We were in the gym every single day, working as a team, and I think that’s helped a lot.”
Eagles don’t fly in Boulder City
It was a gritty, combined team effort but the Lady Trojans were able to get it done last Friday night 0n the road against league rival Boulder City High School.
Taking the Eagles down to the wire, Pahrump Valley’s defense was just enough to outlast the 10-point effort from Boulder City junior Malley Jobin.
Saldana dropped a team-high ten points for Pahrump Valley to match Jobin.
Following a three-point play from Saldana that took three minutes to come across to start the first quarter, Boulder City (9-11, 4-3 3A Southern League) answered back with a quick four points before being met with three-pointers by Saldana and Nelsen to close out the quarter 9-4.
Boulder City played their best ball in the second quarter, outscoring the Trojans 8-5. Jobin began the quarter with a deep three from the top of the key to bring the lead down within two.
Nelsen would be sent to the free-throw line where she converted one attempt, giving the Trojans a brief 10-7 lead with 5:23 to play.
Kendall Shamo showed off her range with a deep two from the corner before Saldana and Brown would sink both their free-throw attempts, holding on to the slim lead 14-9.
The Eagles continued to display their deep range with a successful three-pointer from Rihanna Maza.
With the lead within one with 3:50 to play in the third quarter up 15-14, Nelsen broke away on a steal and finished with the layup to remain up three, 17-14.
Finding themselves up only a point heading into the last quarter, the Trojans had to lock in quickly to avoid losing the league victory.
Trailing for the first time in the contest by two following a three-pointer by Maza, Saldana quickly answered back with a layup inside fighting through double coverage.
Jobin knocked down a pair of baseline jumpers to give the Eagles a four-point lead 26-22 with three minutes to play before the Trojans roared back to take a commanding come-from-behind victory over Boulder City 29-26.
With the victory, the program has now won seven consecutive games and sits in third place in the Class 3A Southern League division behind Coral Academy of Science Las Vegas and Virgin Valley.
Contact Jacob Powers at jpowers@pvtimes.com. Follow @jaypowers__ on X.
