Basketball Game Preview: Live Oak Lions vs. Gridley Bulldogs

Live Oak hasn't had much luck against Gridley recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Live Oak Lions will challenge the Gridley Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m.

Live Oak is headed into Tuesday's matchup looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their fifth straight game on Friday. They were outmatched by Las Plumas and fell 55-16. 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 1182nd, while the Thunderbirds are ranked 501st).

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Gridley, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They blew past Corning 52-32 on Friday.

Live Oak better keep an eye on Brook Marr. She was instrumental in Gridley's win, going 12 of 27 en route to 34 points along with seven steals and five rebounds. That makes it three consecutive games in which Marr has scored at least a third of Gridley's points. Aida Duran was another key player, putting up seven points and eight boards.

Gridley has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 5-12 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 53.3 points per game. As for Live Oak, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-11.

Things could have been worse for Live Oak, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 55-39 loss to Gridley in their previous matchup back in December of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Marr, who dropped a double-double on 25 points and 14 rebounds. Now that Live Oak knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.