Basketball Game Preview: Hanford Falcons vs. Chiawana Riverhawks

Hanford hasn't had much luck against Chiawana recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Hanford Falcons will be playing in front of their home fans against the Chiawana Riverhawks at 5:45 p.m. Hanford has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last four games.

Hanford is headed into the match out to prove that what happened against Richland on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Hanford was outmatched by Richland and fell 75-47. While losing is never fun, the Falcons can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Washington basketball rankings (they are ranked 272nd, while the Bombers are ranked 132nd).

Meanwhile, Chiawana entered their tilt with Pasco on Thursday with 17 consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with 18. They claimed a resounding 74-26 victory over the Bulldogs. The Riverhawks have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 contests by 24 points or more this season.

Hanford better keep an eye on Malia Ruud. She was instrumental in Chiawana's win, dropping a double-double on 19 points and 12 rebounds. Ruud's evening made it four games in a row in which she has scored at least 16 points. Another player making a difference was Baylee Maldonado, who posted ten points and seven assists.

Chiawana smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 11 consecutive games.

Chiawana pushed their record up to 18-1 with the win, which was their seventh straight on the road. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 36.1 points. As for Hanford, their loss dropped their record down to 1-17.

Hanford took a serious blow against Chiawana when the teams last played back in January, falling 73-22. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Chiawana's Kaia Foster, who went 8 for 13 en route to 19 points and seven boards. Now that Hanford knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.