The Porterville Panthers suffered their biggest loss since November 18, 2023 on Friday. They were outmatched by El Diamante on the road and fell 65-35. Porterville was given a dose of their own medicine in this game as El Diamante apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in November of 2023.
Despite the loss, Porterville saw an underclassman step up: Ryleigh Schoonover dropped a double-double on 22 points and 18 rebounds. That was a full 62.9% of Porterville's points, marking the fourth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Aliya Gibson, who scored six points along with seven rebounds and two steals.
It was another big night for Olivia Torres, who scored 28 points for El Diamante. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Torres has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Rian Jones-Dillihunt, who scored nine points.
Porterville's defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 11-8. As for El Diamante, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 11-7.
Porterville will look to defend their home court on Saturday against Farmersville at 1:30 p.m. One thing working in Farmersville's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last three contests. As for El Diamante, they will head out on the road to take on Sierra Pacific at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. Sierra Pacific is also coming in off of a big victory, so somebody is in for a big reversal of fortune.
