Basketball Game Preview: University Trojans vs. Laguna Beach Breakers

The University Trojans will square off against the Laguna Beach Breakers at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.

University is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Marina on Saturday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. University was beaten by Marina 55-26. The Trojans were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 35-14.

Julia Holmes put forth a good effort for the losing side as she posted five points in addition to ten boards and three steals. Those three steals gave her a new career-high.

Meanwhile, Laguna Beach had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 13 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They enjoyed a cozy 46-29 win over the Timberwolves. Given the Breakers' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 413th, while the Timberwolves are ranked 903rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

University better focus on containing Kate Cheng and Fiona McCormick as the pair were huge in Laguna Beach's win. Cheng earned 23 points, while McCormick had 15 points and eight rebounds. McCormick's evening made it four games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points.

Laguna Beach is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-8 record this season. As for University, they have also traveled a rocky road recently having lost six of their last seven matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-16 record this season.

Things could have been worse for University, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 48-30 loss to Laguna Beach in their previous matchup two weeks ago. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of McCormick, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and 11 boards. Now that University knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.