After flying high against St. Joseph Academy on Tuesday, Del Norte came back down to earth. The Nighthawks were just a bucket shy of victory on Thursday and fell 52-51 to the Rancho Buena Vista Longhorns. The Nighthawks were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Longhorns apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in December of 2023.
Taylor Benitez
| 12/04/25 @ Rancho Buena Vista | 23 |
| 12/02/25 vs St. Joseph Academy | 24 |
| 11/25/25 @ El Capitan | 12 |
| 11/24/25 vs San Diego | 13 |
| 11/22/25 vs Escondido Charter | 14 |
| + 2 more games |
Despite the loss, Del Norte still got an impressive performance from Taylor Benitez, who almost dropped a double-double with 23 points and nine boards. With that strong performance, Benitez is now averaging an impressive 15.3 points per game. Emerson Cole was another key player, dropping a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Rancho Buena Vista was led to victory by Arika Gonzales and Minel Bur. Gonzales shot 78% from the field on her way to 20 points along with five boards and three steals, while Bur went 5-for-11 to rack up 14 points in addition to five rebounds and four steals. Those three steals gave Gonzales a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Abbie Kabeera, who posted ten points in addition to seven boards and five assists.
Del Norte has traveled a rocky road recently, having lost three of their last four matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 3-5 record this season. Those defeats can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 53.0 points over those games. As for Rancho Buena Vista, their record is now 3-0.
Del Norte didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 58-31 victory against Poway on the 5th. As for Rancho Buena Vista, they have also already played their next contest, a 63-54 win against Fallbrook on the 5th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
