The Otay Ranch Mustangs and the Santa Fe Christian Eagles will round out the year against one another at at 11:00 a.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Otay Ranch has eight straight wins, Santa Fe Christian has five straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
Otay Ranch picked up another tournament win on Saturday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Calexico 55-25. The Mustangs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven contests by 26 points or more this season.
| 12/21/24 vs Calexico | 16 |
| 12/20/24 vs Palo Verde Valley | 16 |
| 12/13/24 vs Academy of Our Lady of Peace | 18 |
Otay Ranch's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Maleah Porch, who posted 16 points and seven steals, and Elisa Cruz, who went 7 of 12 on her way to 16 points. The game was Porch's third in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Serenity Salmond, who had seven points along with six rebounds and four steals.
Meanwhile, Santa Fe Christian came up short against Huntington Beach on Saturday and fell 44-36.
Otay Ranch will need focus on slowing down Jennifer Stanion, one of several Santa Fe Christian players who made an impact when they last played. She almost dropped a double-double on 20 points and nine rebounds. Stanion is on a roll when it comes to boards, as she's now pulled down nine or more in the last three games she's played. Maddie Binnie was another key player, putting up four points and five rebounds.
Santa Fe Christian's defeat dropped their record down to 2-8. As for Otay Ranch, their victory bumped their record up to 11-2.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Otay Ranch has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 31 boards per game. However, it's not like Santa Fe Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 35.8 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Otay Ranch didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Santa Fe Christian in their previous meeting back in December of 2022, but they still walked away with a 55-51 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Santa Fe Christian's Piper Lenihan, who put up 37 points and three steals. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Otay Ranch still be able to contain Lenihan? There's only one way to find out.
