Two dominant guards in Alyse Lomeli and Leilani Olanolan are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Patterson Tigers and the Riverbank Bruins will compete for holiday cheer at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Patterson is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Monterey Trail just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Saturday. They took a 50-40 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Mustangs. While losing is never fun, the Tigers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 341st, while the Mustangs are ranked 130th).
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Kailani Ortiz, who posted eight points and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Rylee Manu, who earned four points and three steals.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Riverbank, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. They came out on top against Enochs by a score of 55-44 on Monday.
Riverbank's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-4. Those home victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 73.3 points over those games. As for Patterson, their loss dropped their record down to 5-3.
Things could have been worse for Patterson, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 56-39 loss to Riverbank when the teams last played back in December of 2024. Can the Tigers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps