The Chaparral Pumas will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against the Great Oak Wolfpack at 5:30 p.m. on January 26th. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Wednesday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Chaparral beat Temecula Valley 43-39.
Chaparral's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Angela Dela Cruz, who scored ten points along with five rebounds, and Lexa Ava Li, who scored ten points along with three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Zetta Faasua, who scored nine points along with seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, even though Vista Murrieta scored an imposing 57 points on Wednesday, Great Oak still came out on top. Great Oak managed a 61-57 victory over Vista Murrieta. Given Great Oak's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 211th, while Vista Murrieta is ranked 492nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Bri Thomas continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 15 points and 15 rebounds. She is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as she's now posted two or more in the last six games she's played. Taylor Fuson was another key contributor, scoring 16 points along with six rebounds.
Chaparral now has a winning record of 11-10. As for Great Oak, they pushed their record up to 14-7 with that victory, which was their sixth straight at home.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Chaparral have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 34.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Great Oak struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Chaparral ended up a good deal behind Great Oak when the teams last played on January 9th, losing 64-46. Can Chaparral avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
