The Mt. Carmel Sundevils are on the road again on Tuesday and plays the Grossmont Foothillers at 7:00 p.m. on February 13th. Hopefully Mt. Carmel focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 32 on Friday.
Mt. Carmel struggled with three-point shooting accuracy on Friday (Valley Center was 20% better) and sadly the final score reflected it. Mt. Carmel took a 53-44 hit to the loss column at the hands of Valley Center.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Grace Weede, who almost dropped a double-double on 17 points and nine rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Kiyanna Ellis, who scored five points along with seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, Grossmont stacked a 12th blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Granite Hills 56-23 at home. Given Grossmont's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 220th, while Granite Hills is ranked 583rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Amethyst Price was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 22 points and 11 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points she has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Aakash Price, who scored four points along with nine rebounds and seven steals.
Mt. Carmel has been struggling recently as they've lost seven of their last nine games, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-20 record this season. As for Grossmont, their victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 20-7.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Mt. Carmel have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 40.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Grossmont struggles in that department as they've been averaging 24.1 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Mt. Carmel was taken down by Grossmont 77-29 in their previous matchup back in December of 2023. Can Mt. Carmel avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
