The Tulare Union The Tribe's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their third straight loss. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 46-45 to Mission Oak. While losing is never fun, Tulare Union can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 625th, while Mission Oak is ranked 272nd).
Tulare Union's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kaiden Valdez, who scored ten points along with eight rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Kayloni Cox, who scored 14 points.
Even though they lost, Tulare Union were working as a unit and finished the game with 15 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Mission Oak only racked up eight assists.
Mission Oak's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Isabella Zepeda led the charge by scoring 15 points along with eight rebounds and three steals. Zepeda's trending in the right direction, as she's improved his point production for three games straight. Sierra Calantas was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Tulare Union's loss dropped their record down to 10-12. As for Mission Oak, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 15-6.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Tulare Union will face off against Dinuba at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday. Dinuba will be looking to keep their four-game home win streak alive. As for Mission Oak, they will head out on the road to face off against Hanford at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Hopefully Hanford focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 15 on Tuesday.
