The El Camino Wildcats and the Mount Miguel Matadors will face off at 3:00 p.m. on December 29th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Given that the pair suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.
On Thursday, El Camino ended up a good deal behind West Hills and lost 48-33. While losing is never fun, El Camino can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 1053rd, while West Hills is ranked 487th).
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Meleiah Jones, who scored six points. Aleigha Tatum was another key contributor, scoring four points.
Meanwhile, Mount Miguel pushed their score all the way to 60 on Thursday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell 68-60 to Maranatha Christian.
The losing side was boosted by Jaylene Hughes, who scored 58 points along with eight rebounds and four steals. She scored a full 96.7% of Mount Miguel's points, the tenth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.
El Camino's defeat dropped their record down to 3-10. As for Mount Miguel, they bumped their record down to 2-9 with that defeat, which was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season.
Friday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy matchup: El Camino have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 32.9 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Mount Miguel, though, as they've been averaging only 6.4 rebounds per game. Given El Camino's sizeable advantage in that area, Mount Miguel will need to find a way to close that gap.
El Camino beat Mount Miguel 54-47 in their previous matchup back in February of 2022. Will El Camino repeat their success, or does Mount Miguel have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
