Basketball Game Preview: Valley Center Jaguars vs. Escondido Cougars

Valley Center is 8-2 against Escondido since January of 2020 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. A feisty cat fight is on tap when the Valley Center Jaguars duke it out with the Escondido Cougars at 5:30 p.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Valley Center is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They breezed by San Pasqual to the tune of 69-28 on Friday. Winning may never get old, but the Jaguars sure are getting used to it with their fourth in a row.

Nashayla Chaipos continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, going 10 for 20 on her way to 25 points in addition to four steals and three blocks. Her evening made it four games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Mykayla Degen, who posted 19 points along with five rebounds and three steals.

Valley Center smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've posted since back in February of 2024.

Meanwhile, Escondido hadn't done well against Ramona recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Escondido took their contest with ease, bagging a 52-20 win over Ramona. The match marked the Cougars' most dominant victory of the season.

Escondido's win came from a few key players Valley Center will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Naomi Gutierrez, who almost dropped a double-double on 17 points and nine steals. Another player making a difference was Anaya McGlory, who scored 18 points in addition to three steals and three blocks.

Valley Center's win bumped their record up to 10-8. As for Escondido, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 6-10.

Valley Center barely slipped by Escondido in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, winning 29-28. Does Valley Center have another victory up their sleeve, or will Escondido turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.