The Fountain Hills High School girls basketball team has lost two in a row since starting the season with a win. The Falcons went on the road on Tuesday, Nov. 30, and lost 49-34 to Payson. Then the Falcons were blown out at home, 64-14, last Thursday, Dec. 2, against Gilbert Christian.

The circumstances in both games were similar, the Falcons were undersized and outnumbered.

“We talked about that last night because Payson was just as tall [as Gilbert Christian] and Payson had, in my opinion, a better guard,” Baca said. “Last night, we just let Gilbert Christian do whatever they wanted. They can use the ‘I was tired from the game before,’ but the fact is, you’re going to have two games every week from here on out, sometimes three games, and our bench isn’t getting any bigger. You can use that as an excuse or you can step up.”

The game against Payson was close until the Falcons ran out of gas in the fourth quarter. Senior Soleil Smith and juniors LJ Holland and Titleist Patrick played all 32 minutes without subbing, and senior Ezra Scaife returned to the lineup following a COVID quarantine period.

“I wasn’t at all mad at them or disappointed in their efforts because they played hard, and Payson was big,” Baca said. “We just don’t have the height to compete with that, but we still had more offensive rebounds than they did.”

The Falcons had a slim shot to defeat Payson, but they tried hard and came as close as they could to doing that. Two days later, the Falcons came nowhere near beating Gilbert Christian, which at one point led 22-3.

Patrick scored six points against Payson and has come a long way shooting the ball since last year, according to Baca. Baca is also happy to have Scaife back, because she is another ball handler and good defender. Baca said that she is trying to help both Patrick and Scaife gain more confidence to help improve even more as the season progresses.

“I think we need a little more action from our posts,” Baca said. “They need to start sealing underneath. Right now, they are very timid.”

The Falcons have one game this week, and it’s Senior Night. The Falcons host Benjamin Franklin on Wednesday, Dec. 8, at 5:30 p.m. Next Monday, Dec. 13, the Falcons travel to San Tan Foothills. This will be the last basketball game until January 2022.