The Mission Oak Hawks had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. In a tight match that could have gone either way, they made off with a 46-45 win over Tulare Union. Given Mission Oak's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 272nd, while Tulare Union is ranked 625th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Mission Oak got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Isabella Zepeda out in front who scored 15 points along with eight rebounds and three steals. Zepeda continues to roll, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Sierra Calantas, who scored 14 points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Several The Tribe players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Kaiden Valdez, who scored ten points along with eight rebounds. Kayloni Cox was another key contributor, scoring 14 points.
Even though they lost, Tulare Union were working as a unit and finished the game with 15 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Mission Oak only racked up eight assists.
Mission Oak has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 15-6 record this season. As for Tulare Union, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 10-12.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Mission Oak will face off against Hanford at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Hanford is coming into the game hot, having won their last three games. As for Tulare Union, they will head out on the road to face off against Dinuba at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday. Dinuba will be looking to keep their four-game home win streak alive.
