Basketball Game Preview: Valencia Vikings vs. Village Christian Crusaders

Valencia has won nine straight games at home (dating back to last season), while Village Christian has won nine straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Wednesday. The Valencia Vikings will welcome the Village Christian Crusaders at 5:30 p.m. After the two teams made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Wednesday.

Valencia is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Golden Valley: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Valencia blew Golden Valley out of the water with a 56-23 final score. The Vikings have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 15 matchups by 21 points or more this season.

Valencia's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Kamilla Basyrova, who went 7 for 15 on her way to 18 points and three steals, and Cara McKell, who went 6 of 7 en route to 14 points. Alexis Epie was another key player, putting up five points.

Valencia was working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Golden Valley only posted four assists.

Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Village Christian's strategy against Heritage Christian on Tuesday. Village Christian was the clear victor by a 62-39 margin over Heritage Christian. Given the Crusaders' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 170th, while the Warriors are ranked 499th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Village Christian is also on a roll lately: they've won 14 of their last 15 games, which provided a massive bump to their 19-7 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.2 points per game. As for Valencia, their victory bumped their record up to 23-4.

Valencia came up short against Village Christian when the teams last played back in February of 2022, falling 38-33. Will Valencia have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.