Santa Ynez is 5-0 against Atascadero since December of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Santa Ynez Pirates will be playing at home against the Atascadero Greyhounds at 6:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Santa Ynez has five straight wins, Atascadero has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Friday, Santa Ynez strolled past Pioneer Valley with points to spare, taking the game 45-27. Given Santa Ynez's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 357th, while Pioneer Valley is ranked 787th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Santa Ynez's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Kylie Lapointe, who scored nine points along with five steals. Lapointe is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last seven games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jay Bradford, who scored six points along with six rebounds.
While Atascadero couldn't quite beat Pioneer Valley on Tuesday, the three-point margin was a huge improvement compared to the 23-point defeat they were dealt on Thursday. Atascadero fell just short of Pioneer Valley by a score of 41-38. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Atascadero in their matchups with Pioneer Valley: they've now lost five in a row.
Santa Ynez's victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 13-6. As for Atascadero, their loss dropped their record down to 7-13.
Santa Ynez came out on top in a nail-biter against Atascadero in their previous meeting on January 9th, sneaking past 47-45. Will Santa Ynez repeat their success, or does Atascadero have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
