Two dominant players in Zetta Faasua and LaKaila Trimble are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Chaparral Pumas will head out on the road to face off against the Murrieta Mesa Rams at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with four consecutive losses for Chaparral and six for Murrieta Mesa.
Last Tuesday, Chaparral lost to Vista Murrieta on the road by a decisive 60-43 margin. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Chaparral in their matchups with Vista Murrieta: they've now lost four in a row.
Despite the loss, Chaparral saw an underclassman step up: Faasua scored 12 points along with nine rebounds and three steals. Faasua hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for three straight games. Myla Igoe was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with five assists.
Murrieta Mesa suffered their biggest loss since December 18, 2023 on Tuesday. They were outmatched by Great Oak on the road and fell 60-32. While losing is never fun, Murrieta Mesa can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 669th, while Great Oak is ranked 190th).
Chaparral has been struggling recently, as they've lost seven of their last eight matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-10 record this season. As for Murrieta Mesa, they bumped their record down to 7-15 with that defeat, which was their fourth straight on the road.
Chaparral strolled past Murrieta Mesa in their previous matchup on January 2nd by a score of 55-40. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Trimble, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 14 rebounds. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Chaparral still be able to contain him? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
