Lynwood is on a six-game streak of home wins, while Esperanza is on a four-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Lynwood Knights will take on the Esperanza Aztecs at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
With a playoff game on the line, Lynwood rose to the challenge on Thursday. They came out on top against the Centaurs by a score of 52-44. Given Lynwood's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 46th, while Culver City is ranked 176th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Taliyah Mcferson was her usual excellent self, scoring 19 points along with seven rebounds. Shanilah Ewing was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with four steals and two blocks.
In what's become a running theme this season, Esperanza gave their fans yet another huge victory on Thursday. They claimed a resounding 70-37 victory over Valley View at home.
Esperanza can attribute much of their success to Madilyn Lam, who scored 18 points along with eight assists and eight rebounds, and Charlotte Muller, who scored 24 points along with four steals. Lam has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last six times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Alexa Muller, who scored eight points along with seven assists and three steals.
Lynwood has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 17-11 record this season. As for Esperanza, their win bumped their record up to 25-4.
Saturday's game is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Lynwood have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 38.8% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Esperanza struggles in that department as they've nailed 40.8% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Lynwood took their victory against Esperanza in their previous matchup back in December of 2017 by a conclusive 56-35. Does Lynwood have another victory up their sleeve, or will Esperanza turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
