Basketball Game Preview: Pinewood Panthers vs. Alameda Hornets

The Pinewood Panthers will challenge the Alameda Hornets at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Pinewood is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of California's top teams: Priory, who was ranked 17th at the time (Pinewood was ranked ninth). Pinewood came out on top against Priory by a score of 57-50 on Friday. The win made it back-to-back victories for Pinewood.

Pinewood's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Vallory Kuelker, who posted 25 points. What's more, Kuelker also racked up two blocks, the most she's had since back in February of 2024. Another player making a difference was Jolyn Ding, who went 7 for 8 en route to 17 points.

Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Alameda's strategy against San Leandro on Wednesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Alameda blew San Leandro out of the water with a 63-22 final score. The Hornets have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight games by 27 points or more this season.

Pinewood's win was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-3. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 37.6 points. As for Alameda, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 13-7 record this season.

Everything came up roses for Pinewood against Alameda in their previous matchup back in December of 2019, as the team secured an 83-42 victory. Does Pinewood have another victory up their sleeve, or will Alameda turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.