Basketball Game Preview: Eisenhower Cadets vs. Hanford Falcons

Eisenhower and Hanford are an even 3-3 against one another since December of 2014, but not for long. The Eisenhower Cadets will look to defend their home court on Friday against the Hanford Falcons at 6:30 p.m. Hanford took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Eisenhower, who comes in off a win.

While Eisenhower didn't have the best season last year (they finished 4-15), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They managed a 51-47 win over Sunnyside on Saturday. Given the Cadets' advantage in MaxPreps' Washington basketball rankings (they are ranked 98th, while the Grizzlies are ranked 202nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Eisenhower's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Rihanna Espinoza, who went 5 of 10 on her way to 10 points and five steals. With that strong performance, Espinoza is now averaging an impressive 2.1 steals per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Nekha Roehl, who posted 12 points and eight rebounds.

Eisenhower smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in nine consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, Hanford played a tough contest on Saturday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They had to suffer through a 73-22 loss at the hands of Chiawana. The loss continues a trend for the Falcons in their matchups with the Riverhawks: they've now lost six in a row.

Hanford's defeat dropped their record down to 1-9. As for Eisenhower, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season.

Eisenhower barely slipped by Hanford when the teams last played back in January of 2020, winning 60-59. Will Eisenhower repeat their success, or does Hanford have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.