Basketball Preview: Mt. Carmel Sundevils vs. Fallbrook Warriors
Mt. Carmel is 1-6 against the Warriors since December of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Mt. Carmel Sundevils will head out on the road to challenge the Fallbrook Warriors at 5:30 p.m. Hopefully Mt. Carmel focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 31 on Saturday.
Last Saturday, things could have been worse for Mt. Carmel, but they could have been a whole lot better as they took a 62-47 loss to the Tigers. While losing is never fun, Mt. Carmel can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 869th, while the Tigers are ranked 228th).
Despite the loss, Mt. Carmel had strong showings from Grace Weede, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and ten rebounds, and Kaelyn Nason, who scored 21 points along with six rebounds and five steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Nason has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Mattea Castro, who scored four points along with five rebounds and four blocks.
In what's become a running theme this season, Fallbrook gave their fans yet another huge win on Friday. They claimed a resounding 59-20 victory over Valley Center on the road. The win was nothing new for Fallbrook as they're now sitting on six straight.
Grace Nordeen was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 21 points and 15 rebounds. Nordeen is crushing the rebound category: she's posted at least eight every time she's taken the court this season. Claire Nordeen was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Mt. Carmel's loss dropped their record down to 8-18. As for Fallbrook, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 19-7 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Mt. Carmel have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 40.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Fallbrook struggles in that department as they've been averaging 38.9 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Mt. Carmel took a serious blow against the Warriors when the teams last played two weeks ago, falling 69-29. The game was all but decided by halftime, at which point Mt. Carmel was down 35-15.
