Basketball Game Preview: East Union Lancers vs. Pioneer Patriots

The East Union Lancers will challenge the Pioneer Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with East Union sitting on ten straight victories and Pioneer on five.

Last Thursday, East Union strolled past Manteca with points to spare, taking the game 45-31. Given the Lancers' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 138th, while the Buffaloes are ranked 610th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Pioneer beat Sacramento 47-41 on Friday.

Pioneer's win came from a few key players East Union will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Angeleyis Medina De La Fuente, who dropped a double-double with 16 points and ten boards. She is becoming a predictor of Pioneer's success: when she posts at least ten rebounds the team is undefeated (and 9-12 when she doesn't). Marissa Bautista was another key player, putting up two points along with 14 boards, six steals, and four blocks.

Pioneer was working as a unit and finished the game with 12 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Sacramento only racked up six assists.

East Union's win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 21-6. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.2 points over those games. As for Pioneer, they now have a winning record of 13-12.

Everything came up roses for East Union against Pioneer when the teams last played back in February of 2022, as the squad secured a 69-31 victory. In that game, East Union amassed a halftime lead of 35-15, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Tuesday.