The Fall River Bulldogs came tearing into Friday's matchup with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 20 points) and they left with even more momentum. They had just enough and edged Portola out 36-34. Given Fall River's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 405th, while Portola is ranked 921st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Fall River got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Mylah Darnell out in front who scored ten points along with three steals. Darnell is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Hailey Valdez was another key contributor, scoring six points along with nine rebounds and seven steals.
Fall River has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a massive bump to their 5-3 record this season. As for Portola, they are on a five-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 2-9.
Fall River won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Modoc at 4:10 p.m. on December 16th. Modoc is on a three-game streak of home wins, Fall River a ten-game streak of away wins (dating back to last season)-- so someone will have to leave a streak behind on the court. Portola won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Tulelake at 10:50 a.m. on December 16th. Hopefully Tulelake focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 19 on Friday.
