Wheatland has been on the road for five straight, but on Tuesday they'll finally head home. The Wheatland Pirates and the Oroville Tigers will face off at 7:00 p.m. on December 19th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Saturday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Wheatland beat Roseville 37-31.
Wheatland found their leader in underclassman Michaela Davis, who scored 12 points along with nine rebounds and three steals. That makes it six consecutive games in which Davis has scored at least 25% of Wheatland's points. Another player making a difference was Reagan Clancy, who scored six points along with four steals.
Meanwhile, Oroville scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Saturday. They managed a 45-41 victory over Upper Lake. The victory was just what Oroville needed coming off of a 53-25 defeat in their prior game.
Oroville can attribute much of their success to Ayianna Herrera, who scored 15 points along with seven rebounds and five steals, and Leila Jackson, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and 12 rebounds. The game was Jackson's third in a row with at least ten points.
Wheatland's victory bumped their record up to 3-5. As for Oroville, their victory bumped their record up to 3-9.
Tuesday's game is shaping up to be a scrappy game: Wheatland have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 34.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Oroville struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 35.6 rebounds per game. Given Wheatland's sizeable advantage in that area, Oroville will need to find a way to close that gap.
Wheatland suffered a grim 46-22 defeat to Oroville in their previous meeting back in February of 2022. Can Wheatland avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
