Basketball Game Preview: Marysville Indians vs. Center Cougars

Marysville is 9-1 against Center since January of 2020 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Monday. The Marysville Indians will host the Center Cougars at 7:30 p.m. Marysville knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past six games -- so hopefully Center likes a good challenge.

Last Friday, Marysville humbled Oakmont with a 66-26 victory. The Indians have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 13 matches by 25 points or more this season.

Marysville's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Abigail Pietz led the charge by shooting 7-for-12 from long range and dropping a double-double on 25 points and 11 rebounds. Pietz has been hot for a while, having also posted three or more steals the last 49 times she's played. Another player making a difference was Demi Boykin, who went 6 of 15 en route to 16 points along with seven boards and six assists.

Marysville smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 25 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 51 consecutive contests dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, Center took a blow against Bear River on Friday, falling 59-30. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 1008th, while the Bruins are ranked 331st).

Marysville is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 17-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 68.2 points per game. As for Center, they have been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last eight matchups, which is still a better percentage than their 5-19 record this season.

Everything came up roses for Marysville against Center in their previous meeting back in January, as the team secured a 57-24 win. Will Marysville repeat their success, or does Center have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.