The Banning Broncos will head out on the road to face off against the Redlands East Valley Wildcats at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Banning has struggled recently with four losses in a row, while Redlands East Valley will arrive with four straight victories.
Last Friday, Banning had to suffer through a rough 65-38 loss at the hands of Yucca Valley. While losing is never fun, Banning can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 1034th, while Yucca Valley is ranked 214th).
Despite the loss, Banning had strong showings from Maryanne Palacios, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Symora Prince, who scored eight points along with 16 rebounds and four steals. The contest was Palacios' fifth in a row with at least ten points. Anyssa Aqleh was another key contributor, scoring six points along with seven rebounds.
Even though they lost, Banning were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Redlands East Valley got the win against Elsinore on Tuesday by a conclusive 56-33.
Banning has not been sharp recently, as they've lost five of their last six games, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-6 record this season. As for Redlands East Valley, their win bumped their record up to 6-7.
Banning was able to grind out a solid victory over Redlands East Valley in their previous meeting back in December of 2021, winning 46-37. Will Banning repeat their success, or does Redlands East Valley have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
