The Santa Teresa Saints will head out on the road to take on the Willow Glen Rams at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Santa Teresa is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 53.5 points per game this season.
Santa Teresa's tournament run continued when they took on Mountain View last Monday. Santa Teresa fell to Mountain View 43-39. The Saints haven't had much luck with the Spartans recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Dahlia Daboul, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 11 boards. She is becoming a predictor of Santa Teresa's success: when she posts at least ten rebounds the team is undefeated (and 2-4 when she doesn't). Another player making a difference was Akai McGee, who posted six points in addition to eight rebounds and five steals.
Even though they lost, Santa Teresa smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive boards. That's the most offensive boards they've posted since back in December of 2023.
Meanwhile, Willow Glen had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 36 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They walked away with a 55-42 victory over the Mustangs.
Santa Teresa better keep an eye on Natalia Valerio. She was instrumental in Willow Glen's win, dropping a double-double on 22 points and ten boards. Valerio is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as she's now pulled down eight or more in the last four games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Lucia Diaz, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Willow Glen pushed their record up to 9-3 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. As for Santa Teresa, their loss dropped their record down to 8-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Santa Teresa has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 33.8 boards per game. However, it's not like Willow Glen struggles in that department as they've been averaging 36.2 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Santa Teresa couldn't quite finish off Willow Glen in their previous matchup back in February of 2024 and fell 53-51. Can Santa Teresa avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
