The Fallbrook Warriors pushed their score all the way to 55 on Thursday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They opened the new year with a less-than-successful 62-55 loss to Pacifica Christian/Orange County. While losing is never fun, Fallbrook can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 281st, while Pacifica Christian/Orange County is ranked 84th).
Fallbrook's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Claire Nordeen, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 12 rebounds. Nordeen scored a full 40% of Fallbrook's points, the seventh time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Janice Garcia, who scored 17 points.
Caylie Villagrana continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines for Pacifica Christian/Orange County, scoring 20 points along with four steals. Another player making a difference was Angi Martinez, who scored two points along with eight steals and six assists.
This is the second loss in a row for Fallbrook and nudges their season record down to 11-6. As for Pacifica Christian/Orange County, their win bumped their record up to 16-3.
Fallbrook will head out on the road to face off against San Pasqual at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Pacifica Christian/Orange County will be staying on the road on Saturday to face off against Yucca Valley at 11:00 a.m. on January 6th. Yucca Valley will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.
