Basketball Game Preview: Salesian College Preparatory Pride vs. Pinole Valley Spartans

Salesian College Preparatory has gone a perfect 10-0 against Pinole Valley recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Saturday. The Salesian College Preparatory Pride will take on the Pinole Valley Spartans at 12:30 p.m. Salesian College Preparatory is coming into the contest hot, having won their last six games.

Salesian College Preparatory is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They put the hurt on St. Patrick-St. Vincent with a sharp 71-51 win. The Pride have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten games by 20 points or more this season.

Janiya Sawyer

Steals

02/05/25 vs Richmond	7
01/07/25 @ Bethel	6
02/13/25 vs St. Patrick-St. Vincent	5
01/31/25 vs Saint Mary's	5
12/28/24 vs San Joaquin Memorial	5
+ 18 more games

Janiya Sawyer continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, almost dropping a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds. She also grabbed five steals, which is notable because Salesian College Preparatory is 14-1 when she posts at least three steals, but 5-7 otherwise. Emma Bryant was another key player, putting up 16 points.

Meanwhile, Pinole Valley beat Saint Mary's 56-43 on Thursday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Spartans.

Salesian College Preparatory pushed their record up to 19-8 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 66.8 points over those games. As for Pinole Valley, their win bumped their record up to 18-9.

Salesian College Preparatory beat Pinole Valley 48-38 in their previous meeting last Thursday. The rematch might be a little tougher for Salesian College Preparatory since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.