Basketball Game Preview: Sierra Timberwolves vs. Ceres Bulldogs

The Sierra Timberwolves and the Ceres Bulldogs will round out the year against one another at at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Sierra is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Central Valley, posting a 67-21 victory. The team's explosion on offense also rewarded the Timberwolves with their most commanding win of the season.

Sierra can attribute much of their success to Mya Everett, who went 8 for 20 on her way to 18 points in addition to seven boards and six steals, and Janessa Barnes, who went 5 of 11 on her way to 11 points along with eight rebounds and seven steals. The dominant performance also gave Barnes a new career-high in assists (four). Kiana Uahinui was another key player, putting up five points along with eight boards and three steals.

Sierra smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in 33 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, Ceres had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 18 points) and they went ahead and made it four on Saturday. They put the hurt on the Wolves with a sharp 40-19 win. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 251st, while the Wolves are ranked 711th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Sierra better keep an eye on Lilly Staggs. She was instrumental in Ceres' win, posting 18 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Sovannary Carter, who posted eight points.

Ceres has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 10-3 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 51.9 points per game. As for Sierra, the victory got them back to even at 5-5.

Everything came up roses for Sierra against Ceres in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, as the squad secured a 53-25 win. Will Sierra repeat their success, or does Ceres have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.