The Chowchilla Tribe will head out on the road to square off against the Fresno Christian Eagles at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Fresno Christian took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Chowchilla, who comes in off a win.
Last Friday, Chowchilla strolled past Liberty with points to spare, taking the game 36-19. The victory was just what Chowchilla needed coming off of a 69-29 defeat in their prior game.
Chowchilla found their leader in underclassman Nour Escheik, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 13 rebounds. Escheik has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last six times she's played. Another player making a difference was Shalaya Moore, who scored nine points along with five rebounds and five steals.
Meanwhile, Fresno Christian's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their third straight loss. They fell just short of Yosemite by a score of 37-34. The contest was a 16-16 toss-up at halftime, but Fresno Christian was outscored by Yosemite in the second.
Fresno Christian's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Anna Pascual, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Sarah Guglielmana who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 15 rebounds. That's the first time this season that Pascual scored 15 or more points.
Chowchilla has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 8-9 record this season. As for Fresno Christian, they bumped their record down to 6-16 with that defeat, which was their sixth straight on the road.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Chowchilla have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 35.2 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Fresno Christian, though, as they've been averaging only 33.6 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Chowchilla was dealt a bruising 59-11 defeat at the hands of Fresno Christian when the teams last played back in January of 2023. Can Chowchilla avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
