After a string of three wins, the Mission Oak Hawks's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They took a 61-54 hit to the loss column at the hands of Hanford. The result was an unpleasant reminder to Mission Oak of the 53-45 loss they experienced in the two teams' previous head-to-head fixture back in February of 2023.
Mission Oak's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Aiyana Murray, who scored nine points along with nine rebounds and two steals. Murray is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last four games she's played. Phoenix Ryan was another key contributor, scoring 16 points.
Kenyah Stubbs was her usual excellent self, scoring 42 points along with nine rebounds and six assists for Hanford. That makes it 19 consecutive games in which Stubbs has scored at least a third of Hanford's points. Another player making a difference was Nevaeh Lockett, who scored nine points along with 15 rebounds and four blocks.
Mission Oak's defeat dropped their record down to 15-7. As for Hanford, the win got them back to even at 10-10.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Mission Oak will take on Dinuba at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday. As for Hanford, they will look to defend their home court on Wednesday against Lemoore at 6:30 p.m. Lemoore will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps California Rankings (they are ranked 939th, while Hanford is ranked 406th).
