Woodland hasn't had much luck against Rio Linda recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Woodland Wolves will take on the Rio Linda Knights at 7:00 p.m.
Last Friday, Woodland was just a bucket shy of victory and fell 40-39 to Natomas. The Wolves have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Woodland's defeat came about despite a quality game from Madilyn Watkins, who went 7 of 12 to rack up 19 points. Zoe Byrd was another key player, putting up no points in addition to nine boards and three blocks.
Even though they lost, Woodland smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive boards in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Rio Linda came tearing into Monday's contest with 12 straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 29 points) and they left with even more momentum. They claimed a resounding 63-14 win over the Matadors. Given the Knights' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 248th, while the Matadors are ranked 1160th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Woodland better keep an eye on LaRay Mitchell. She was instrumental in Rio Linda's win, going 10 for 11 on her way to 22 points and six steals. Mitchell has been hot, having posted three or more steals the last eight times she's played. Another player making a difference was Savannah Grant, who dropped a double-double with ten points and 17 rebounds.
Rio Linda's victory was their 15th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 23-3. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 28.5 points over those games. As for Woodland, their loss dropped their record down to 2-19.
Woodland was dealt a bruising 73-11 defeat at the hands of Rio Linda in their previous meeting back in January. That game was all but decided by halftime, at which point Woodland was down 49-11.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
