Basketball Game Preview: Timnath Cubs vs. Montezuma-Cortez Panthers

The Timnath Cubs will face off against the Montezuma-Cortez Panthers at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Timnath has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.

Timnath proved they can win big last Tuesday (they won by 29) and on Thursday they proved they can win the close ones too. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 68-65 win over Berthoud. Given the Cubs' advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 35th, while the Spartans are ranked 95th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Montezuma-Cortez over Bayfield in every quarter on their way to victory on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Montezuma-Cortez blew Bayfield out of the water with a 59-26 final score. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 37-10.

Timnath better keep an eye on Taylor Whited. She was instrumental in Montezuma-Cortez's win, almost dropping a double-double with 32 points and nine steals. That's the most steals Whited has posted since back in February of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Shaylynn Bia, who had five points in addition to seven boards and three steals.

Montezuma-Cortez smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. They are 6-3 when they hit their own glass that hard.

Timnath pushed their record up to 20-3 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.0 points over those games. As for Montezuma-Cortez, their win ended a seven-game drought on the road and puts them at 7-16.