Basketball Recap: Firebaugh Comes Up Short

Firebaugh lost to Coalinga on January 9th and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Tuesday. The Eagles were outmatched by the Horned Toads and fell 61-16. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 1124th, while the Horned Toads are ranked 346th).

Emma Serna

Steals

01/27/26 @ Coalinga	5
01/22/26 @ Avenal	9
01/20/26 vs Dos Palos	6
01/13/26 @ Tranquillity	4
01/09/26 vs Coalinga	4
+ 9 more games

Despite the loss, Firebaugh saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Emma Serna posted seven points in addition to 11 boards and five steals. Serna has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last 14 times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jennifer Herrera, who scored three points and five steals.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Coalinga to victory, but perhaps none more so than Lali Maciel, who went 5-for-10 on her way to 13 points along with eight assists and five rebounds. Another player making a difference was Kylie Carpenter, who shot 55% from the field en route to 13 points and four steals.

This is the second loss in a row for Firebaugh and nudges their season record down to 5-17. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 12-6 Avenal (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 69.7% over those games). As for Coalinga, they are on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 12 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-6 record this season.

Firebaugh wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next matchup, a 62-26 defeat against Mendota on the 28th. As for Coalinga, they will be playing at home against Avenal at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.