Basketball Recap: Costa Mesa Falls to Irvine in First Game of Season

Costa Mesa unfortunately couldn't capitalize on their home-court advantage in their season opener. They were just a bucket shy of victory on Wednesday and fell 38-37 to the Irvine Vaqueros. If the Mustangs were looking for revenge after losing 41-23 to the Vaqueros when the teams met back in December of 2016, then they'll just have to keep looking.

Emi Kamikihara

Rebounds

11/19/25 vs Irvine	8
02/19/25 vs Nordhoff	8
02/15/25 @ Capistrano Valley Christian	10
02/13/25 vs St. Genevieve	9

Several Mustangs players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Emi Kamikihara, who posted nine points and eight rebounds. Kamikihara is on a roll when it comes to boards, as she's now pulled down eight or more in each of the last four games she's played dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Leilani Quero, who earned six points and four steals.

Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming contests. Costa Mesa is packing up and heading out for their first away game of the season: they will take on Woodbridge at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Irvine, they will take on Aliso Niguel at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.