Basketball Game Preview: Grant Pacers vs. Laguna Creek Cardinals

The Grant Pacers will head out to take on the Laguna Creek Cardinals at 3:00 p.m. on Monday.

Grant is headed into Monday's matchup hungry for a win as their strong season has now been derailed by two straight defeats. They were beaten by McClatchy 82-39 on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Pacers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 169th, while the Lions are ranked 22nd).

Meanwhile, Laguna Creek made easy work of Cosumnes Oaks on Friday and carried off a 58-36 win. The Cardinals have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven games by 20 points or more this season.

Laguna Creek's win came from a few key players Grant will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jestine Tofi, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 11 boards. She has been hot recently, having also posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. Another player making a difference was Trinity Thao, who posted 17 points and five rebounds.

Laguna Creek smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 15 consecutive contests.

Grant's loss dropped their record down to 13-7. As for Laguna Creek, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a massive bump to their 11-7 record this season.

Everything came up roses for Grant against Laguna Creek when the teams last played back in January of 2024, as the squad secured an 81-45 victory. In that game, Grant amassed a halftime lead of 43-19, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Monday.