If the Wood Wildcats were riding high off their 81-11 takedown of the Natomas Nighthawks on Thursday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. Wood took a 41-32 hit to the loss column at the hands of Pioneer on Friday. While losing is never fun, Wood can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 524th, while Pioneer is ranked 212th).
Wood's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Tianna Palmer, who scored six points along with ten rebounds and four steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Mikyah Dixon, who scored seven points along with ten rebounds.
Pioneer was led to victory by Keziah Maldonado-lemus and Olivia Gill. Maldonado-lemus dropped a double-double on 11 points and ten assists, while Gill dropped a double-double on 14 points and 13 rebounds. Maldonado-lemus is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Marissa Christian was another key contributor, scoring four points along with ten rebounds and three steals.
Wood now has a losing record at 7-8. As for Pioneer, the win (which was their tenth in a row) raised their record to 13-2.
Wood and Dixon will face off at 12:30 p.m. on December 30, 2023 without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Pioneer and Rodriguez will face off at 6:30 p.m. on December 30, 2023 without much rest after finishing up games yesterday.
