Basketball Game Preview: Chaparral Pumas vs. Fallbrook Warriors

The Chaparral Pumas will take on the Fallbrook Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Chaparral easily dispatched Silverado on Tuesday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Pumas fell just short of Chino by a score of 62-59 on Wednesday. The Pumas' loss signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.

Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Zetta Faasua, who shot 44% from the field en route to 23 points and six rebounds. That was a full 39% of Chaparral's points, marking the fourth time in a row Faasua has posted more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Maya Ford, who dropped a double-double with 15 points and ten boards.

Meanwhile, Fallbrook gave their fans exactly what they wanted out of a home opener on Monday. They blew past Mission Vista 64-36. The Warriors haven't had any issues with Mission Vista recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.

Chaparral better keep an eye on Grace Nordeen. She was instrumental in Fallbrook's win, dropping a double-double with 22 points and 26 rebounds. Nordeen has been hot for a while, having posted nine or more boards the last 25 times she's played. Morgan Hegel was another key player, going 6-for-12 on her way to 18 points.

Chaparral's defeat dropped their record down to 3-2. As for Fallbrook, their win bumped their record up to 1-0.

Chaparral didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Fallbrook when the teams last played back in December of 2024, but they still walked away with a 55-50 victory. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was the Warriors' Janice Garcia, who shot 67% from the field to rack up 20 points and seven rebounds. Now that she won't be playing on Monday, will it be easier for the Pumas to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.