Basketball Game Preview: Tulelake Honkers vs. Etna Lions

Tulelake is 1-7 against Etna since December of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Tulelake Honkers will look to defend their home court against the Etna Lions at 7:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Tulelake has three straight victories, Etna has eight straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Last Friday, everything went Tulelake's way against Surprise Valley as Tulelake made off with a 52-32 win. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory the Honkers have posted against the Hornets since February 7, 2020.

Makenzie Perez

Assists (Career)

02/14/25 @ Surprise Valley	7
12/09/23 @ Hayfork	5
01/22/25 vs Crosspoint Christian	3
12/10/24 @ Butte Valley	3
12/21/23 @ Crosspoint Christian	3

Tulelake's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Makenzie Perez, who posted 12 points along with seven assists and five rebounds. Those seven assists gave Perez a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Josefina Mojica, who put up 11 points and three steals.

Meanwhile, Etna was beaten by Trinity 61-27 on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Lions can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 895th, while the Wolves are ranked 238th).

Tulelake's victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 14-11. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 30.8 points. As for Etna, their loss dropped their record down to 7-19.

Tulelake skirted past Etna 36-33 in their previous matchup back in December of 2024. Will Tulelake repeat their success, or does Etna have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.