The Ukiah Wildcats will venture away from home to challenge the Piner Prospectors at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Ukiah has six straight wins, Piner has seven straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
Ukiah is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They simply couldn't be stopped on Tuesday as they easily beat Elsie Allen 78-21. Given the Wildcats' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 251st, while the Lobos are ranked 1056th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Piner had to suffer through a 57-12 loss at the hands of Healdsburg. The matchup marked the Prospectors' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Ukiah will have to keep a close watch on Aaliyah Reece and Kaylee Ross, a pair of players who had a big impact on Piner's prior game. Reece posted four points in addition to six boards and three steals, while Ross put up four points and three blocks. Reece has been hot, having posted three or more steals the last six times she's played.
Piner's loss dropped their record down to 4-7. As for Ukiah, they have been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-7 record this season.
Everything came up roses for Ukiah against Piner in their previous meeting back in January of 2023, as the squad secured a 70-34 victory. Does Ukiah have another victory up their sleeve, or will Piner turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
