The Imperial Tigers will head out on the road to face off against the Fallbrook Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Palo Verde Valley typically has all the answers at home, but on Friday Imperial proved too difficult a challenge. They snuck past the Yellow Jackets with a 42-36 victory.
It was another big night for Nayeli Cardona, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and ten steals. She hasn't dropped below four steals for 12 straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Davan Heraz, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, Fallbrook stacked a 15th blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Friday. They blew past Escondido 52-17 at home. The victory was familiar territory for Fallbrook who now have eight in a row.
Claire Nordeen was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 20 points and 16 rebounds. She hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for 18 straight games. Another player making a difference was Taylor Thomas, who scored five points along with six steals.
Imperial has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 16-12 record this season. As for Fallbrook, their victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 21-7.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Imperial have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 33.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Fallbrook struggles in that department as they've been averaging 39.3 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Imperial came up short against Fallbrook in their previous matchup back in February of 2022, falling 29-23. Can Imperial avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
