Two dominant guards in Rylee Bradley and Alissa Belen are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Marina Vikings will take on the Pioneer Titans at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Marina is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They enjoyed a cozy 70-51 win over Valencia. The Vikings' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Meanwhile, Pioneer came tearing into Thursday's matchup with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 32.8 points), and they left with even more momentum. They walked away with a 56-49 victory over the Lions. Given the Titans' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 177th, while the Lions are ranked 373rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Pioneer found their leader in sophomore Riley Almendarez, who went 9-for-12 on her way to 18 points. What's more, Almendarez also posted a 75% field goal percentage, which is the highest she's achieved since back in January. Belen was another key player, putting up nine points.
Pioneer pushed their record up to 16-11 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 29.8 points over those games. As for Marina, they are on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a massive bump to their 18-11 record this season.
Marina couldn't quite finish off Pioneer when the teams last played back in February of 2019 and fell 38-36. Can Marina avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
