The Minarets Mustangs will head out on the road to challenge the Chowchilla Tribe at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Minarets comes in on a streak of failing to score more than 19 points in their last four games, a trend the team is of course eager to reverse.
Minarets suffered their biggest loss yet this season on Friday. They were outmatched by Sierra at home and fell 72-16. While losing is never fun, Minarets can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 1261st, while Sierra is ranked 327th).
Meanwhile, Chowchilla strolled past Fresno Christian with points to spare on Tuesday, taking the game 40-21. The win made it back-to-back wins for Chowchilla.
Chowchilla's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Nour Escheik, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 14 rebounds. Escheik hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for seven straight games. Another player making a difference was Molly Silva, who scored 11 points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Minarets has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost six of their last seven contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-8 record this season. As for Chowchilla, the victory got them back to even at 9-9.
Minarets couldn't quite finish off Chowchilla in their previous meeting back in February of 2023 and fell 33-31. Can Minarets avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
