Basketball Game Preview: Orcutt Academy Spartans vs. Immanuel Eagles

The Orcutt Academy Spartans will take on the Immanuel Eagles in a tournament on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Immanuel is hoping to do what Laguna Blanca couldn't on Tuesday: put an end to Orcutt Academy's winning streak, which now stands at six games. Orcutt Academy blew past Laguna Blanca 68-20. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 37-6.

Orcutt Academy's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Eryka Gudmunds led the charge by going 10 of 21 on her way to 21 points along with seven rebounds and four steals. The dominant performance gave Gudmunds a new career-high in steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Ella Edwards, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 13 boards.

Orcutt Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 27 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in 18 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, Immanuel was fully in charge on Saturday, breezing past Turlock 72-8. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 250th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 883rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Immanuel has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a massive bump to their 6-4 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.2 points per game. As for Orcutt Academy, their victory was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-1.