Basketball Game Preview: Golden Valley Cougars vs. Atwater Falcons

Golden Valley hasn't had much luck against Atwater recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Golden Valley Cougars will face off against the Atwater Falcons at 7:15 p.m. The two teams are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.

Having struggled with four losses in a row, Golden Valley turned things around against Buhach Colony on Thursday. They really took it to the Thunder for the full four quarters, racking up a 51-18 victory. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 30-8.

Meanwhile, Atwater entered their tilt with Los Banos on Thursday with seven consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with eight. They took their matchup with ease, bagging an 81-31 win over the Tigers. Given the Falcons' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 65th, while the Tigers are ranked 332nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Golden Valley better keep an eye on Karissa Hukill. She was instrumental in Atwater's win, putting up 18 points along with five assists and three steals. Hukill is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last six games she's played. Cami Gibson was another key player, dropping a double-double on ten points and 11 rebounds.

Atwater smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in 24 consecutive games.

Atwater is on a roll lately: they've won 16 of their last 18 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 20-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.4 points per game. As for Golden Valley, their victory ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 7-16.

Golden Valley was dealt a bruising 68-26 defeat at the hands of Atwater in their previous meeting back in January. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Hukill, who went 8 of 19 en route to 18 points in addition to seven boards and six assists. Now that Golden Valley knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.