Atwater Falcons at Merced Bears — Girls Basketball preview (Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026)

SBLive Report,

Merced HS -

Atwater visits Merced for a Central Section league meeting on Thursday, Jan. 22. Tip is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. PT at Merced High School. Follow the official game page on SBLive for updates: https://scorebooklive.com/california/girls-basketball/games/5786371-atwater-vs-merced

Quick facts

When: Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026 — 7:15 p.m. PT

Where: Merced High School (Merced, Calif.)

Game page: https://scorebooklive.com/california/girls-basketball/games/5786371-atwater-vs-merced

Home: Merced Bears — https://scorebooklive.com/california/girls-basketball/teams/158022-merced-bears (fans: 1)

Away: Atwater Falcons — https://scorebooklive.com/california/girls-basketball/teams/157998-atwater-falcons (fans: 7)

What to watch

The Falcons and Bears meet at Merced High in a matchup with recent history — their last meeting came on Feb. 11, 2025, at Merced, when Atwater posted a 57-26 win. Both teams will look to assert themselves early in league play; Merced returns home next Tuesday against Golden Valley (Jan. 27) while Atwater travels to Buhach Colony that same night.

Streaming and tickets

Streaming: Fans can check each school’s NFHS Network page for possible broadcasts — Merced: https://nfhsnetwork.com/schools/merced-high-school-merced-ca/basketball?referrer_name=scorebooklive&utm_campaign=scorebooklive&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=scorebooklive; Atwater: https://nfhsnetwork.com/schools/atwater-high-school-atwater-ca/basketball?referrer_name=scorebooklive&utm_campaign=scorebooklive&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=scorebooklive

Ticketing: No ticket links provided on the game page. Check the game or school pages above for updates.

Get involved

Follow both teams on SBLive to stay up to date and help grow their fan counts: Merced — https://scorebooklive.com/california/girls-basketball/teams/158022-merced-bears; Atwater — https://scorebooklive.com/california/girls-basketball/teams/157998-atwater-falcons. Make your pick on the game page — picks are for fun and help drive engagement, and SBLive numbers (fans and picks) may change leading up to tipoff. Follow the teams and make a pick for the one you want to see win.

Stay tuned to the SBLive game page for live updates, box score and final results.