Basketball Game Preview: Lakeview Charter Lions vs. Sylmar Spartans

The Lakeview Charter Lions will challenge the Sylmar Spartans at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Lakeview Charter is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Math & Science College Preparatory 48-13. The Lions have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten games by 26 points or more this season.

Evelyn Quinonez

Steals

02/19/25 vs Math & Science College Preparatory	8
02/14/25 @ Valley Oaks CES	13
02/07/25 vs Community Charter	13
02/05/25 vs Triumph Charter	7
01/27/25 @ Robert F. Kennedy Community	9
+ 16 more games

Evelyn Quinonez was her usual excellent self, going 6-for-10 on her way to 17 points and eight steals. She is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in each of the last 21 games she's played. Liliana Word was another key player, putting up eight points and six rebounds.

Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Sylmar's strategy against Monroe on Wednesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Sylmar blew Monroe out of the water with an 81-5 final score. That looming 81-5 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Spartans yet this season.

Lakeview Charter better focus on containing Isabella Gonzalez and Yaneli Zuniga-Hernandez as the pair were huge in Sylmar's win. Gonzalez went 15-for-25 to rack up 34 points along with five boards and five steals, while Zuniga-Hernandez went 10-for-18 en route to 25 points and five steals. That makes it four consecutive games in which Gonzalez has scored at least a third of Sylmar's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Audreena Bernal, who posted five points.

The victory was the fifth in a row for Lakeview Charter, bringing their record for this year to 15-8. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 13.6 points over those games. As for Sylmar, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 6-12.

Lakeview Charter came up short against Sylmar when the teams last played back in November of 2023, falling 45-36. Can Lakeview Charter avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.