Basketball Game Preview: Fallbrook Warriors vs. Helix Highlanders

The Fallbrook Warriors will face off against the Helix Highlanders at 3:00 p.m. on Monday. Fallbrook will be strutting in after a victory while Helix will be coming in after a loss.

On Saturday, Fallbrook strolled past San Diego with points to spare, taking the game 52-35. Given the Warriors' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 313th, while the Cavers are ranked 722nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Helix suffered their closest defeat since November 21, 2024 on Friday. They fell just short of El Capitan by a score of 57-54. The Highlanders have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Despite the loss, Helix saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Samara Patterson dropped a double-double on 14 points and ten boards. The dominant performance also gave Patterson a new career-high in steals (four). Another player making a difference was Cheyenne McMillan, who posted 12 points and six rebounds.

Even though they lost, Helix smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in six consecutive games.

Fallbrook has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.4 points per game. As for Helix, their defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 8-8.

Fallbrook strolled past Helix in their previous matchup back in January of 2022 by a score of 59-43. Will Fallbrook repeat their success, or does Helix have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.