Girls basketball fifth at San Diego County Classic

Fallbrook High School’s girls basketball team took fifth place in the San Diego County Classic tournament.

The Warriors won three games while losing two in the tournament which opened Fallbrook’s season and continued after the Warriors returned from the River Valley Tournament in Arizona.

“We’re definitely a growing basketball team,” said Fallbrook coach Dan Bachman. “We played really well in stretches.”

Fallbrook’s first tournament game and 2013-14 season opener took place Dec. 2 at home against Valley Center. Although the Jaguars had an 8-5 lead after the first quarter, Fallbrook was on the preferred end of the 42-25 final score. “That was a very important victory,” Bachman said.

Bachman explained that a victory to open the season placed the Warriors on good footing while the win over a higher-division team for playoff purposes could have implications for Fallbrook during the CIF Division III playoff selection and seeding meeting.

“We’re excited to be playing again,” Bachman said.

The Warriors improved their season record to 2-0 with a 49-38 road win Dec. 3 at West Hills. “It was a solid effort,” Bachman said. “We kind of controlled the action from the very beginning. West Hills kept it close, but we were able to dictate the pace of the game.”

On Dec. 4, the Warriors hosted Cathedral Catholic, who returned home with a 69-53 victory. “It was a good measuring stick for us,” Bachman said. “Even in a loss we can take things away from that game and say we can play with anyone in the county.”

Bachman felt that his team played its best game of the year against the Dons in terms of defensive press, shooting, and ball control. Cathedral is in Division I for playoff purposes.

Fallbrook played in the Dec. 6-7 River Valley Tournament before resuming San Diego County Classic tournament play Dec. 10 at Westview. The Wolverines prevailed by a 46-35 margin. “We just didn’t shoot the ball very well,” Bachman said.

Fallbrook closed out San Diego County Classic competition with a Dec. 14 neutral site game against University City. The final score was 43-41 in Fallbrook’s favor. “We did enough to win,” Bachman said. “We played well. We didn’t turn the ball over, started shooting a little bit better.”

The Centurions led by a single point with 1 1/2 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. After obtaining the two-point lead, Fallbrook had possession with 10 seconds remaining. A foul sent the Warriors to the free throw line for a one-and-one opportunity, but the first shot was missed. A University City player recovered the rebound, but the Centurions missed the final shot which could have tied the game.

The win over University City gave the Warriors a 6-3 season record.