Basketball Game Preview: Pioneer Diamondbacks vs. McAllen Memorial Mustangs

The Pioneer Diamondbacks will square off against the McAllen Memorial Mustangs at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Pioneer sitting on ten straight victories and McAllen Memorial on three.

Pioneer is returning to their home court after beating Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North on theirs, despite the fact Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North has dominated at home this season. Pioneer put the hurt on Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North with a sharp 67-42 win on Tuesday. The Diamondbacks have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 13 contests by 21 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, McAllen Memorial posted their closest victory since December 6, 2024 on Friday. They had just enough and edged Rowe out 50-48.

McAllen Memorial's win came from a few key players Pioneer will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Madison Borjas, who went 6 for 15 on her way to 19 points and five steals. She is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Karly Bazan, who posted seven points and ten rebounds.

McAllen Memorial smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in nine consecutive matches.

Pioneer's win was their 15th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 21-9. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.5 points per game. As for McAllen Memorial, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 22-9 record this season.

Pioneer didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against McAllen Memorial in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, but they still walked away with a 51-45 victory. Does Pioneer have another victory up their sleeve, or will McAllen Memorial turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.