Basketball Game Preview: West Valley Eagles vs. Lassen Grizzlies

West Valley and Lassen are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2020, but not for long. The West Valley Eagles will take on the Lassen Grizzlies at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.

West Valley's tournament run continued when they took on Chico on Saturday. West Valley came up short against Chico, falling 61-39. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 410th, while the Panthers are ranked 167th).

Despite the defeat, West Valley got top-tier performance from Rainessa Matthews, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and ten boards. The dominant performance gave Matthews a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Emily Huddleston, who posted five points.

Even though they lost, West Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 48 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, Lassen was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They took a blow against West Valley, falling 71-38. The Grizzlies were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 39-17.

Lassen's defeat dropped their record down to 4-9. As for West Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 8-8.

Everything came up roses for West Valley against Lassen in their previous matchup on Friday, as the team secured a 71-38 victory. In that game, West Valley amassed a halftime lead of 39-17, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Tuesday.