The Gabrielino Eagles will challenge the Workman Lobos at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Gabrielino is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They took their game with ease, bagging a 55-21 victory over Calvary Baptist. The Eagles have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine contests by 21 points or more this season.
Ava Yamashita
| 02/13/25 @ Calvary Baptist | 7 |
| 01/16/25 vs El Monte | 3 |
| 01/29/25 @ El Monte | 2 |
| 01/18/25 @ Mountain View | 2 |
| 12/12/24 vs Narbonne | 2 |
Ava Yamashita was a one-woman wrecking crew for Gabrielino as she posted 12 points in addition to eight rebounds and seven assists. The dominant performance gave Yamashita a new career-high in assists. Kimiko Nagata was another key player, putting up ten points and four steals.
Meanwhile, Workman came tearing into Thursday's matchup with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 32.6 points), and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against the Gauls by a score of 33-20.
Workman's win came from a few key players Gabrielino will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Iris Campos, who had nine points along with seven boards and seven steals. Workman is 8-3 when Campos posts five or more steals, but 3-7 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Hilary Lomeli, who dropped a double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds.
Workman smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds every time they've taken the court this season.
Gabrielino has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a massive bump to their 14-10 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 22.2 points over those games. As for Workman, their win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 11-10.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Gabrielino has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 26.2 boards per game. However, it's not like Workman struggles in that department as they've been averaging 35.7 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Gabrielino strolled past Workman when the teams last played back in December of 2016 by a score of 58-40. Does Gabrielino have another victory up their sleeve, or will Workman turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
