After flying high against the Nogales Nobles last Monday, the El Rancho Dons came back down to earth. El Rancho fell 38-26 to Diamond Ranch on Monday. It was the first time this season that El Rancho let down their fans at home.
El Rancho's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Emery Riker, who scored eight points along with 17 rebounds. Riker hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for four straight games. Another player making a difference was Carissa Basurto, who scored five points along with seven rebounds.
El Rancho's defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 9-5. As for Diamond Ranch, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 7-5.
El Rancho and Capistrano Valley will round out the year against one another at 6:00 p.m. on December 26th at. Capistrano Valley will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps California Rankings (they are ranked 1242nd, while El Rancho is ranked 531st). Diamond Ranch will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on San Dimas at 5:00 p.m. on January 8, 2024.
