The Citrus Hill Hawks will head out on the road to take on the Perris Panthers at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Given that both teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
Citrus Hill suffered their biggest defeat yet this season on Tuesday. They were dealt a 68-14 defeat at the hands of San Jacinto. While losing is never fun, Citrus Hill can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 1252nd, while San Jacinto is ranked 293rd).
While Perris couldn't quite beat West Valley on Tuesday, the two-point margin was a huge improvement compared to the 25-point defeat they were dealt last Tuesday. Perris fell just short of West Valley by a score of 37-35. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Perris in their matchups with West Valley: they've now lost three in a row.
Citrus Hill has been struggling recently, as they've lost eight of their last ten matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-11 record this season. As for Perris, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-8.
Citrus Hill ended up a good deal behind Perris in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, losing 50-34. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Perris' Carina Castaneda, who dropped a double-double on 29 points and 12 steals. Now that Citrus Hill knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
