The Shafter Generals will be playing in front of their home fans against the Sierra Chieftains at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Shafter comes in on 16 and Sierra on four.
Shafter had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They were the clear victor by a 58-37 margin over Ridgeview. Shafter has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 17 games by 20 points or more this season.
Shafter got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was AnneMarie Piuser out in front who scored 16 points along with six rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Sydnee Macias, who scored ten points along with seven rebounds and three steals.
Meanwhile, Sierra strolled past Justin Garza with points to spare on Wednesday, taking the game 62-45. Given Sierra's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 326th, while Justin Garza is ranked 658th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Shafter's win was their 19th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 24-5. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.3 points per game. As for Sierra, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 12 of their last 14 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 21-8 record this season.
Shafter came out on top in a nail-biter against Sierra in their previous matchup back in February of 2017, sneaking past 42-39. Will Shafter repeat their success, or does Sierra have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
