Basketball Recap: Kennedy Takes a Loss

Commanders

Previous 5 Games

01/29/25 @ Manual	30-31
01/24/25 vs DSST: Conservatory Green	63-8
01/22/25 @ Bruce Randolph	38-30
01/17/25 @ Rocky Mountain Prep SMART	81-11
01/16/25 vs Dakota Ridge	29-26

After a string of six wins, Kennedy's good fortune finally ran out on Wednesday. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 31-30 to the Manual Thunderbolts. The Commanders were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Thunderbolts apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in March of 2021.

Kennedy lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Autumn Rutter, who posted three points and 11 steals. With that strong performance, Rutter is now averaging an impressive 3.2 steals per game. Keana Venegas-Alvarez was another key player, putting up seven points along with five steals and three blocks.

Even though they lost, Kennedy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in seven consecutive matchups.

Leading Manual to victory were Dayjah Fox and Jaci Collins-Falcon. Fox almost dropped a double-double on 15 points and nine boards, while Collins-Falcon put up 11 points in addition to six rebounds and four steals. Fox has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more blocks the last 13 times she's played.

Kennedy's loss was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 5-1 and their overall record down to 10-4. As for Manual, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 10-2 record this season.

Kennedy will face off against DSST: Montview at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are headed into the matchup with plenty of momentum (Kennedy has won four straight at home, while DSST: Montview won five straight on the road), something that'll have to change. Manual has already played their next contest (against DSST: College View), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing.