Basketball Game Preview: Alameda Hornets vs. Pinewood Panthers

The Alameda Hornets will head out to challenge the Pinewood Panthers at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Alameda is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing San Leandro: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Alameda blew San Leandro out of the water with a 63-22 final score. The Hornets have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight matchups by 27 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Pinewood faced Priory in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. Pinewood walked away with a 57-50 win over Priory. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Pinewood.

Pinewood's win came from a few key players Alameda will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Vallory Kuelker, who posted 25 points. She is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last five games she's played. Another player making a difference was Jolyn Ding, who went 7 for 8 on her way to 17 points.

Pinewood pushed their record up to 14-3 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.6 points per game. As for Alameda, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 13-7 record this season.

Alameda was taken down by Pinewood 83-42 when the teams last played back in December of 2019. Can Alameda avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.