Basketball Game Preview: Shasta Wolves vs. Chico Panthers

Shasta is 1-9 against Chico since January of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Shasta Wolves will venture away from home to challenge the Chico Panthers at 7:30 p.m. Shasta is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 54.3 points per game this season.

Last Friday, Shasta was able to grind out a solid victory over Enterprise, taking the game 48-40. Given the Wolves' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 81st, while the Hornets are ranked 376th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Bria Tate continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, putting up 17 points. Riley Rosales was another key player, earning nine points.

Meanwhile, Chico came tearing into Friday's match with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 13.3 points) and they left with even more momentum. They snuck past the Vikings with a 51-45 win.

Shasta better focus on containing Josie Carlos and Ellie Harrison as the pair were huge in Chico's win. Carlos posted 25 points and four steals, while Harrison went 5 of 11 en route to 15 points and three steals. Carlos is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last seven games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Corrina Stephens, who had eight points and ten rebounds.

Chico is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a nice bump to their 12-6 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.0 points per game. As for Shasta, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 13-2.

Shasta skirted past Chico 49-47 in their previous matchup on January 2nd. Does Shasta have another victory up their sleeve, or will Chico turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.