Basketball Game Preview: Benicia Panthers vs. Ygnacio Valley Wolves

The Benicia Panthers are taking a road trip to square off against the Ygnacio Valley Wolves at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Benicia has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.

Benicia is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They took their game on Saturday with ease, bagging a 69-31 win over Armijo. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 52-12.

Meanwhile, Ygnacio Valley was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They took a 55-42 hit to the loss column at the hands of Alhambra. While losing is never fun, the Wolves can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 804th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 223rd).

Benicia will have to contain Sa'Rye Starks as she made an impact in Ygnacio Valley's last game. She dropped a double-double on 21 points and 11 rebounds. That was a full 50% of Ygnacio Valley's points, marking the 15th time in a row she's posted more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Lanasia Sipp, who scored four points in addition to seven boards and four steals.

Ygnacio Valley's defeat dropped their record down to 4-12. As for Benicia, their victory bumped their record up to 15-9.

Benicia didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Ygnacio Valley in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, but they still walked away with a 50-46 win. Does Benicia have another victory up their sleeve, or will Ygnacio Valley turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.