On Thursday, Harbor was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 28-23 to Castilleja. While losing is never fun, Harbor can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 952nd, while Castilleja is ranked 454th).
Despite the defeat, Harbor saw an underclassman step up: Malalai Martin Etemadi scored 15 points. Martin Etemadi scored a full 65.2% of Harbor's points, the third time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.
It was another big night for Antonia Vlahos, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 13 steals for Castilleja. The game was Vlahos' sixth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Layla Gallon, who scored four points along with five rebounds and four steals.
This is the second loss in a row for Harbor and nudges their season record down to 6-4. As for Castilleja, they pushed their record up to 5-1 with that victory, which was their fourth straight on the road.
Harbor will finish 2023 at home by hosting Live Oak at 1:30 p.m. on December 30th. Both teams have allowed few points on average, (Live Oak: 25.4, Harbor: 30) so any points scored will be well earned. Castilleja's road trip will continue as they head out to face Dougherty Valley at 3:00 p.m. on December 28th. Dougherty Valley comes in still looking for their first win of the season.
