The Malibu Sharks lost against the Santa Paula Cardinals back in January of 2023, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Tuesday. Malibu lost to Santa Paula at home by a decisive 54-38 margin. Malibu has struggled against Santa Paula recently, as their contest on Tuesday was their ninth consecutive lost matchup.
When it comes to explaining why Malibu lost, one person who can't be blamed is Casey Ovsiowitz. Despite the final result, she dropped a double-double on 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Santa Paula's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Alyse Ramirez, who scored nine points along with six steals and five rebounds. Ramirez hasn't dropped below two steals for three straight games. Another player making a difference was Aryanna Lopez, who scored 16 points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Malibu dropped their record down to 6-7 with that loss, which was their fifth straight at home. As for Santa Paula, the win (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 14-8.
Malibu won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Hueneme at 6:00 p.m. on January 17th. Hueneme is still on the hunt for that elusive first 'W'. As for Santa Paula, they will head out on the road to take on Fillmore at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Fillmore will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps California Rankings (they are ranked 1212th, while Santa Paula is ranked 477th).
