Preview: Live Oak Acorns vs. Cupertino Pioneers
Live Oak has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. The Live Oak Acorns and the Cupertino Pioneers will face off at 7:00 p.m. on December 5th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. One thing working in Live Oak's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last three matchups.
Live Oak has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four matchups by 27 points or more this season. They claimed a resounding 78-7 victory over James Lick at home. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 44-3.
It was another big night for Kathliyah Clement, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 13 steals. Clement is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Isabelle Cline, who scored 14 points along with 6 steals.
Meanwhile, this season hasn't been kind to Cupertino, who are still winless after their fourth matchup. They were beaten by Clovis East 57-15 on Friday. While losing is never fun, Cupertino can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 959th, while Clovis East is ranked 91st).
Live Oak's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-0. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.3 points per game. As for Cupertino, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-4.
Live Oak strolled past Cupertino when the teams last played back in December of 2022 by a score of 39-22. Does Live Oak have another victory up their sleeve, or will Cupertino turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
