Basketball Preview: Hanford Bullpups vs. Mission Oak Hawks
Hanford has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will face off against the Mission Oak Hawks at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
On Saturday, Hanford was beaten by the Golden Bears 76-36. Hanford has struggled against the Golden Bears recently, as their matchup on Saturday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Meanwhile, everything went Mission Oak's way against the The Tribe on Thursday as the Hawks made off with a 51-31 victory. Given Mission Oak's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 272nd, while the The Tribe are ranked 675th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Mission Oak's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Sierra Calantas, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 16 rebounds. Another player making a difference was Isabella Zepeda, who scored 13 points along with seven rebounds and two steals.
Hanford's defeat ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 13-13. As for Mission Oak, the win makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 19-8.
Hanford was able to grind out a solid victory over the Hawks when the teams last played back in January, winning 61-54. The rematch might be a little tougher for Hanford since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
