Basketball Game Preview: El Camino Real Royals vs. Birmingham Patriots

El Camino Real is on a four-game streak of home wins, while Birmingham is on a seven-game streak of away wins (dating back to last season): one of those streaks is about to end. The El Camino Real Royals will welcome the Birmingham Patriots at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

On Wednesday, El Camino Real strolled past Cleveland with points to spare, taking the game 60-42. Given the Royals' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 186th, while the Cavaliers are ranked 714th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Laila Bowens continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a triple-double on 23 points, ten rebounds, and ten steals. She has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last 13 times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Taryn Watrin, who posted eight points in addition to 11 boards and six steals.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Birmingham). They claimed a resounding 83-39 win over Chatsworth. The Patriots have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven contests by 27 points or more this season.

Birmingham is also on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 16-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 66.8 points per game. As for El Camino Real, their victory bumped their record up to 10-11.

El Camino Real came up short against Birmingham when the teams last played two weeks ago, falling 66-53. Will El Camino Real have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.