Basketball Game Preview: Santa Fe Chiefs vs. California Condors

Santa Fe is 1-9 against California since January of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Santa Fe Chiefs will host the California Condors at 6:30 p.m. Santa Fe is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.4 points per game this season.

California is hoping to do what Ocean View couldn't on Thursday: put an end to Santa Fe's winning streak, which now stands at three games. Santa Fe rang in the new year with a 53-45 victory over Ocean View. Given the Chiefs' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 363rd, while the Seahawks are ranked 958th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Santa Fe's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Alexa Gonzalez led the charge by going 5 of 7 on her way to 14 points. Gonzalez continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last four games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Abigail Cetina, who posted eight points and five rebounds.

Santa Fe smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive boards in four consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, California had to suffer through a 59-31 loss at the hands of Villa Park.

Santa Fe's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 15-2. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 23.8 points per game. As for California, their loss dropped their record down to 7-6.

Santa Fe came up short against California in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, falling 50-37. Can Santa Fe avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.