The Sierra Pacific Golden Bears will face off against the Redwood Rangers at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Redwood will be up against a hot Sierra Pacific squad: the team just extended their winning streak to four. Sierra Pacific simply couldn't be stopped on Tuesday as they easily beat Kerman 66-23. The Golden Bears have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 games by 39 points or more this season.
Sierra Pacific relied on the efforts of Apajok Ayuen, who went 6-for-8 to rack up 17 points and three steals, and Asia Jackson, who went 8-for-18 on her way to 17 points and seven boards. What's more, Ayuen also posted a 83% three-point shooting accuracy, which is the highest she's posted since back in December of 2023. Nyang Ayuen was another key player, putting up nine points.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Redwood). They really took it to Mt. Whitney for the full four quarters, racking up a 71-36 victory. The Rangers have beaten the Pioneers the last six times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Pioneers has come to flipping the script.
Sierra Pacific better keep an eye on Jazmaine Stewart. She was instrumental in Redwood's win, going 9-for-11 en route to 22 points. Stewart has been hot recently, having also posted two or more steals the last four times she's played. Another player making a difference was Brooklyn Tayo, who posted 14 points and five rebounds.
Redwood smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 17 offensive boards in three consecutive matchups.
Sierra Pacific pushed their record up to 19-8 with the win, which was their seventh straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.1 points over those games. As for Redwood, their victory bumped their record up to 15-13.
Sierra Pacific didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Redwood in their previous matchup back in December of 2015, but they still walked away with a 60-54 win. Does Sierra Pacific have another victory up their sleeve, or will Redwood turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
