The Central Spartans will head out on the road to square off against the Escondido Charter Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Central is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They walked away with a 65-53 win over Valley Center. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Spartans.
Victoria Zamora
| 12/28/24 vs La Jolla | 28 |
| 02/22/25 vs Valley Center | 25 |
| 12/11/24 vs Holtville | 21 |
| 02/11/25 @ Palo Verde Valley | 20 |
| 01/23/25 vs Palo Verde Valley | 20 |
| + 22 more games |
Central's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Victoria Zamora, who posted 25 points. Zamora has become a key player for Central: the team is undefeated when she posts at least 20 points, but 10-12 otherwise. Rhyanna Velasco-Martinez was another key player, putting up 15 points and four steals.
Meanwhile, Escondido Charter had already won nine in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 31.7 points) and they went ahead and made it ten on Saturday. They blew past the Cardinals 65-36. The Tigers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 17 matches by 25 points or more this season.
Central better focus on containing Azalea Vilaysing and Kami Gillis as the pair were huge in Escondido Charter's win. Vilaysing en route to 22 points and four steals, while Gillis almost dropped a double-double with 15 points and nine boards. Gillis has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more steals the last 14 times she's played. Another player making a difference was CC Goss, who scored eight points and eight rebounds.
Escondido Charter smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in five consecutive contests.
Escondido Charter's victory was their ninth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 22-8. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 68.3 points over those games. As for Central, their record now sits at 17-12.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Central has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 29 boards per game. However, it's not like Escondido Charter struggles in that department as they've been averaging 35.2 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Central strolled past Escondido Charter when the teams last played back in December of 2023 by a score of 59-44. Does Central have another victory up their sleeve, or will Escondido Charter turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
