Basketball Game Preview: Hanford Bullpups vs. Santa Ynez Pirates

After both having extra time off, the Hanford Bullpups and the Santa Ynez Pirates will dust off their jerseys to challenge one another at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Hanford saw some tournament action last Saturday. They took a blow against Sierra, falling 64-24. While losing is never fun, the Bullpups can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 802nd, while the Chieftains are ranked 260th).

Meanwhile, Santa Ynez strolled past Nipomo with points to spare two weeks ago, taking the game 53-34.

Hanford better focus on containing Helina Pecile and Rylan Agin as the pair were huge in Santa Ynez's win. Pecile dropped a double-double on 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Agin went 6 of 11 on her way to 17 points and eight rebounds. Pecile is becoming a predictor of Santa Ynez's success: when she posts at least ten boards the team is 4-1 (and 2-3 when she doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Lexi Molera, who posted 12 points.

Hanford's defeat dropped their record down to 1-6. As for Santa Ynez, their victory was their tenth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-4.