The East Nicolaus Spartans had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 46-26 margin over Pierce. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory East Nicolaus has posted since November 28, 2023.
East Nicolaus got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Rylee Gillespie out in front who scored nine points along with six assists and five steals. Gillespie is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Tiare Faupula was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with six rebounds.
Despite the defeat, Pierce saw an underclassman step up: Magali Jauregui scored ten points.
East Nicolaus has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matches, which provided a massive bump to their 10-6 record this season. As for Pierce, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 7-11.
East Nicolaus will head out on the road to square off against Paradise at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The timing isn't great for Paradise: they have been struggling with three straight losses at home, while East Nicolaus has snatched up five consecutive wins on the road. Pierce will take on Colusa at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully Colusa focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 16 on Friday.
