Basketball Game Preview: Apple Valley Sun Devils vs. Irvine Vaqueros

The Apple Valley Sun Devils will head out on the road to take on the Irvine Vaqueros at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Last Thursday, Apple Valley didn't have too much trouble with Granite Hills as they won 51-32. Given the Sun Devils' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 393rd, while the Cougars are ranked 830th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Apple Valley's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Elizabeth Searls, who posted 19 points along with five boards and four steals. Searls has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last 14 times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Isabelle Cornejo, who went 5 of 8 en route to 10 points along with seven rebounds and four blocks.

Apple Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 13 consecutive contests dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Irvine, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They came out on top against Tesoro by a score of 56-49 on Wednesday.

Irvine pushed their record up to 5-5 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.7 points per game. As for Apple Valley, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season.