Basketball Game Preview: Palo Verde Valley Yellow Jackets vs. Imperial Tigers

Palo Verde Valley is 0-10 against Imperial since January of 2019 but things could change on Friday. The Palo Verde Valley Yellow Jackets will head out on the road to square off against the Imperial Tigers at 7:00 p.m.

Palo Verde Valley is headed into Friday's match looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their eighth straight game on Tuesday. They lost to Central at home by a 54-36 margin.

Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Reagan McCarthy, who went 6-for-10 en route to 14 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaslene Crowe, who posted ten points.

Meanwhile, Imperial had already won nine in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 22.9 points) and they went ahead and made it ten on Tuesday. Everything went their way against the Bulldogs as they made off with a 51-31 victory. The Tigers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine contests by 20 points or more this season.

Palo Verde Valley better focus on containing Nayeli Cardona and Elynna Jimenez as the pair were huge in Imperial's win. Cardona earned 24 points and seven steals, while Jimenez dropped a double-double with 14 points and 12 boards. Cardona's evening made it four games in a row in which she has scored at least 17 points. Clarissa Davila was another key player, putting up seven points and five rebounds.

Imperial smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 15 offensive boards in three consecutive games.

Imperial's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 22-4. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 29.3 points over those games. As for Palo Verde Valley, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-12.

Things could have been worse for Palo Verde Valley, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 41-27 loss to Imperial in their previous meeting back in January. Can Palo Verde Valley avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.