Basketball Game Preview: Cienega Bobcats vs. Flowing Wells Caballeros

Having just played yesterday, the Cienega Bobcats will head out on the road to face off against the Flowing Wells Caballeros at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Cienega is coming into the contest on a three-game losing streak.

Cienega is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Nogales on Monday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Cienega was outmatched by Nogales and fell 61-27. While losing is never fun, the Bobcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 143rd, while the Apaches are ranked 48th).

Cienega's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Emma Guevara, who posted 15 points and five rebounds, and Amaya Woolford, who had three points along with seven boards and five blocks. Those 15 points gave Guevara a new career-high.

Meanwhile, Flowing Wells unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Friday. They took a 42-36 hit to the loss column at the hands of Nogales. While the Caballeros didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Apaches 14-10 in the first quarter.

Cienega will need focus on slowing down Allison Verdugo, one of several Flowing Wells players who made an impact when they last played. She put up eight points in addition to 17 boards and three steals. Verdugo has become a key player for Flowing Wells: the team is 14-2 when she posts at least eight rebounds, but 3-4 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Adonia Mendez, who scored seven points and seven boards.

Flowing Wells' defeat was their first in the region, dropping their region record down to 5-1 and their overall record down to 17-6. As for Cienega, their loss dropped their record down to 10-13.

Cienega came up short against Flowing Wells in their previous matchup back in January, falling 60-49. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Flowing Wells' Nevaeh Urenda, who went 11 for 27 on her way to 25 points along with eight rebounds and seven assists. Now that Cienega knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.