Basketball Game Preview: Sierra Timberwolves vs. Central Catholic Raiders

Sierra has gone 8-2 against Central Catholic recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Sierra Timberwolves will look to defend their home court against the Central Catholic Raiders at 7:30 p.m. Sierra has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last four games.

Sierra is headed into the match having just posted their biggest victory since December 21, 2024 on Thursday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Oakdale 53-13. The Timberwolves haven't had any issues with the Mustangs recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.

Janessa Barnes

Steals

12/21/24 vs Central Valley	7
11/25/24 @ Gregori	7
02/06/25 vs Oakdale	5
12/03/24 @ Liberty Ranch	5
12/06/24 vs Livingston	4
+ 11 more games

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Sierra to victory, but perhaps none more so than Janessa Barnes, who posted eight points in addition to 11 boards and five steals. Sierra is 3-1 when Barnes posts five or more steals, but 6-12 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Kiana Uahinui, who went 5 of 10 en route to 14 points and three steals.

Sierra smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in nine consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Central Catholic hadn't done well against Manteca recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. Central Catholic escaped with a win against Manteca by the margin of a single free throw, 46-45.

Central Catholic's victory bumped their record up to 10-14. As for Sierra, their win bumped their record up to 9-13.

Sierra was able to grind out a solid victory over Central Catholic when the teams last played back in January, winning 41-31. Does Sierra have another victory up their sleeve, or will Central Catholic turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.