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Warriors now targets in girls basketball games

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

The 2020-21 Fallbrook High School girls basketball team had an 8-0 Valley League record to win the league championship, reached the finals of the CIF San Diego Section Division III playoffs and the CIF Southern California Division 5-AA playoffs, and ended the season with an overall record of 23-9 including playoff matches. That means that the Warriors’ 2021-22 opponents prepare for a top-caliber team.

“We’re no longer the underdogs, so anybody who comes out to play us, they’re bringing everything that they have,” said Fallbrook coach Trae Harrison.

The calendar year 2021 portion of Fallbrook’s 2021-22 season ended with the Warriors possessing a 6-6 record. “I’m okay with it,” Harrison said.

“I think we could have won some games that we should have won,” Harrison said. “That’s the way it works at times. You’ve going to have those.”

Harrison noted that at times the Warriors played down to the level of their opponent. “Any time you do that I think you’re going to lose the game,” Harrison said.

The Warriors’ season began Nov. 15 when Heritage High School made the trip from Menifee. The Patriots ended the calendar year 2021 with an 11-3 record for that portion of the season including a 54-51 victory at Fallbrook’s expense. Fallbrook held a 29-22 halftime lead and a 42-33 advantage after three periods before Heritage had a 21-9 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter.

A Nov. 18 home game against Mission Vista provided the Warriors with their first win of the season. Although the Timberwolves were ahead by a 23-20 margin at halftime, Fallbrook had scoring advantages of 15-7 in the third quarter and 13-4 in the fourth period to create a 48-34 final score. Fallbrook senior Elley Ahrend scored 17 points; senior Naiya Kurnik provided 12 points, and sophomore Claire Nordeen contributed 11 points. Nordeen led the team with 11 rebounds while Ahrend and Kurnik pulled down eight apiece. The 18 team steals included four by junior Brooke Quintana and three apiece by Ahrend, Kurnik, and Nordeen.

Westview, which ended calendar year 2021 with a 9-3 record, traveled to the Fallbrook gym Nov. 20 and returned home with a 66-49 triumph. A Nov. 26 trip to Temecula was a 59-46 loss to Rancho Christian.

Fallbrook’s Dec. 7 game at Tri-City Christian ended with the Warriors on the preferred end of the 57-18 final score. The Warriors had leads of 16-4 after one quarter, 36-6 at halftime, and 52-11 after three periods.

A trip to Catalina Island was part of Fallbrook’s Dec. 11 schedule including a game at Avalon High School. The Warriors scored all 11 first-quarter points, held an 18-5 halftime cushion, had a 34-6 advantage at the end of the third quarter, and won by a 49-11 margin.

A Dec. 15 game at El Camino was a 75-50 loss and a Dec. 17 visit to the Del Norte gym resulted in a 51-44 Nighthawks victory.

Torrey Pines hosted Fallbrook in a Dec. 18 game. Fallbrook’s 63-39 win included leads of 18-8 after one quarter, 36-15 at halftime, and 45-27 after three periods.

On Dec. 22, Fallbrook defeated San Dieguito Academy in a 52-43 contest. Fallbrook had leads of 10-8 at the end of the first period, 27-16 when the halftime buzzer sounded, and 39-32 after the completion of the third quarter.

Two tournament games on neutral courts closed out calendar year 2021 for Fallbrook. San Juan Hills, whose season record as of Dec. 31, was 13-5, won the 52-28 game Dec. 27.

The Warriors closed out the calendar year Dec. 28 against Sage Creek. Fallbrook had leads of 17-8 after one quarter, 25-16 at halftime, and 38-19 at the end of three periods. The final score was 57-21.

Fallbrook’s Division III success last season resulted in the Warriors being moved to Division II for playoff purposes. “I scheduled a real tough pre-season, also,” Harrison said. “We had some tough games that we had to fight back in and we showed a lot of grit.”

None of the teams which defeated Fallbrook in November or December had losing records at the end of the calendar year. The Warriors also had a 6-6 record after 12 games last season.

Only one of the 2020-21 Fallbrook players was a senior, so the Warriors return nine players from last season’s team including all five starters. This season’s roster includes six seniors. The only new varsity player is one of those seniors.

The Warriors will begin Valley League play Jan. 12 at San Pasqual and will have their first league home match Jan. 14 against Mount Carmel. “We’re prepared for every team that we play, and talentwise we have the capability of winning league again,” Harrison said.

 

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