Basketball Game Preview: Pleasant Grove Eagles vs. Sheldon Huskies

Pleasant Grove and Sheldon are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2020, but not for long. The Pleasant Grove Eagles will host the Sheldon Huskies at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Pleasant Grove will bounce into Monday's matchup after beating Franklin, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. In a tight contest that could have gone either way, Pleasant Grove made off with a 52-51 win over Franklin. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 257th, while the Wildcats are ranked 693rd), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Sheldon's game on Friday was close up to the half, which is when they kicked things up a notch. They put the hurt on Cosumnes Oaks with a sharp 63-42 victory. The Huskies have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight matches by 21 points or more this season.

Sheldon's win came from a few key players Pleasant Grove will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Saniah Wiley, who went 8 of 16 en route to 19 points in addition to six boards and five assists. She has been hot, having also posted two or more steals the last eight times she's played. Jemiah Mallari was another key player, shooting 4-for-7 from beyond the arc and dropping a double-double on 14 points and ten rebounds.

Pleasant Grove is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 14-7 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 51.4 points per game. As for Sheldon, their win bumped their record up to 14-9.

Pleasant Grove won a game that couldn't have been any closer in their previous matchup back in January, slipping by Sheldon 53-52. Will Pleasant Grove repeat their success, or does Sheldon have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.