Basketball Game Preview: Centennial Golden Hawks vs. Bakersfield Drillers

Centennial hasn't had much luck against Bakersfield recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Centennial Golden Hawks will square off against the Bakersfield Drillers at 7:00 p.m. Centennial is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 63.3 points per game this season.

Centennial is headed into the match after thoroughly thrashing Garces Memorial: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Centennial blew Garces Memorial out of the water with a 98-16 final score. The Golden Hawks have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven games by 23 points or more this season.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Centennial to victory, but perhaps none more so than Shekinah (Kai) Shaw, who went 9 for 20 on her way to 23 points in addition to six assists and four steals. Shaw is crushing it when it comes to steals: she's grabbed at least two every time she's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Priscila Salazar, who went 8 for 11 on her way to 18 points and five steals.

Shaw wasn't the only one working in the assists department: Centennial was working as a unit and finished the game with 27 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in January of 2024.

Meanwhile, Bakersfield had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 15.5 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. Everything went their way against the Scots as they made off with a 54-29 victory.

Centennial pushed their record up to 10-5 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 77.7 points per game. As for Bakersfield, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 9-5 record this season.

Everything came up roses for Centennial against Bakersfield when the teams last played back in November of 2023, as the squad secured a 63-16 victory. Does Centennial have another victory up their sleeve, or will Bakersfield turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.