Basketball Game Preview: Carpinteria Warriors vs. Santa Paula Cardinals

Carpinteria hasn't had much luck against Santa Paula recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Carpinteria Warriors will look to defend their home court against the Santa Paula Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Carpinteria sitting on three straight wins and Santa Paula on ten.

Carpinteria is headed into the matchup having just posted their closest victory since November 16, 2023 on Tuesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Channel Islands, sneaking past 38-35. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Warriors have posted against the Raiders since January 9, 2017.

Meanwhile, you're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter, and that's exactly how it played out for Santa Paula on Tuesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that they blew Fillmore out of the water with a 67-18 final score. The Cardinals have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten contests by 24 points or more this season.

Santa Paula's win came from a few key players Carpinteria will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jalynn Rico, who went 7 of 13 on her way to 17 points and seven steals. That's the most steals she has posted since back in December of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of Miahnna Galvan, who went 5 for 11 en route to 10 points in addition to eight assists and six rebounds.

Santa Paula has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 12 of their last 13 games, which provided a nice bump to their 16-8 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 26.2 points per game. As for Carpinteria, the victory got them back to even at 8-8.

Carpinteria took a serious blow against Santa Paula in their previous matchup on January 13th, falling 73-29. Will Carpinteria have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.