Basketball Game Preview: Mission Oak Hawks vs. Dinuba Emperors

The Mission Oak Hawks will challenge the Dinuba Emperors at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.

Last Thursday, Mission Oak got the win against Hanford by a conclusive 59-38. The win continues a trend for the Hawks in their matchups with the Bullpups: they've now won three in a row.

Meanwhile, Dinuba came tearing into Saturday's game with 11 straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 32.6 points) and they left with even more momentum. They took their matchup with ease, bagging a 71-29 victory over the Bears. With the Emperors ahead 42-15 at the half, the contest was all but over already.

Dinuba's win came from a few key players Mission Oak will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jalissa Espirito, who posted 22 points. The game was her fourth in a row with at least 15 points. Another player making a difference was Samantha Gonzalez, who scored 17 points.

Dinuba's win was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 20-5. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 29.3 points over those games. As for Mission Oak, their victory bumped their record up to 13-14.

Mission Oak suffered a grim 55-30 defeat to Dinuba when the teams last played back in January. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Espirito, who earned 25 points along with five boards and four steals. Now that Mission Oak knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.