Warrior girls win first two basketball playoff games

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

Fallbrook High School's girls basketball team defeated Chula Vista and St. Joseph Academy in the Warriors' first two CIF Division II playoff games.

The Warriors obtained a 70-29 victory against Chula Vista at home Feb. 15 and then prevailed over St. Joseph by a 52-35 margin in the Feb. 18 game at Fallbrook.

"We're peaking at the right time, " said Fallbrook coach Trae Harrison.

Fallbrook was given the top seed in the Division II playoffs. Chula Vista had the 16th seed. The Warriors had to avoid treating the game as an easy win.

"For all the games now, it's more about mental preparedness," Harrison said. "Every game's more mental now. "

The Warriors were aided by the home court advantage. "We had a big crowd. The fans were there," Harrison said.

The Fallbrook players needed to capitalize on their advantages. "They were focused and they came out ready to go, " Harrison said. "We shot the ball very well."

The win against St. Joseph gave Fallbrook a Feb. 23 semifinal match against Eastlake with the Feb. 25 CIF championship game at San Marcos High School at stake. Last year, Fallbrook lost to St. Joseph in the final, so the quarterfinal was a rematch of last year's title matchup.

"The girls really wanted this game, especially since they took the CIF championship from us last year by one," Harrison said.

Fallbrook and St. Joseph played each other this year in the regular season; the Crusaders had leads after each of the first three quarters before the Warriors pulled out the victory in the fourth period. Fallbrook had the lead throughout the Feb. 18 game. "We started 19-3 in the first quarter," Harrison said.

The halftime lead was 12 points. "Second quarter we kind of calmed down. Our energy was down," Harrison said.

Adjusting at halftime didn't prevent what is inevitable in basketball. "Third quarter they went on a run," Harrison said of the Crusaders.

"That's what basketball is, a game of runs," Harrison said. "We handled their run pretty well."

The run of points brought the Crusaders to within six points of the Warriors, but Fallbrook scored the next four points. "We just kind of coasted the rest of the way," Harrison said.

The win over St. Joseph improved Fallbrook's season record to 22-6. "We're just focused now," Harrison said. "The girls really came out this year to play."