Whittier has gone 8-2 against Santa Fe recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Whittier Cardinals will take on the Santa Fe Chiefs at 5:15 p.m. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Whittier has struggled recently with six defeats in a row, while Santa Fe will arrive with eight straight wins.
On Wednesday, Whittier ended up a good deal behind La Serna and lost 51-35. While losing is never fun, the Cardinals can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 722nd, while the Lancers are ranked 275th).
| 01/29/25 @ La Serna | 16 |
| 11/26/24 vs Nogales | 13 |
| 11/20/24 vs La Habra | 12 |
| 12/27/24 vs Rosemead | 12 |
| 01/31/24 @ Santa Fe | 11 |
Whittier's loss came about despite a quality game from Kassandra Mendoza, who posted 16 points and six boards. The dominant performance gave Mendoza a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Olivia Alvares, who put up eight points and five steals.
Even though they lost, Whittier smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Santa Fe hadn't done well against California recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Santa Fe managed a 61-56 victory over California.
Santa Fe's win came from a few key players Whittier will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Roxy Beltran, who earned 17 points along with five rebounds and three steals. She is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed three or more in the last ten games she's played. Another player making a difference was Natalie Rivera, who scored 18 points in addition to seven boards and three steals.
Santa Fe's win was their eighth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 20-2. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 53.6 points per game. As for Whittier, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-15.
Whittier couldn't quite finish off Santa Fe when the teams last played two weeks ago and fell 59-56. Can Whittier avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
