Basketball Game Preview: The Gregory School Hawks vs. Hayden Lobos

The Gregory School Hawks are taking a road trip to take on the Hayden Lobos at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.

The Gregory School is headed into the match out to prove that what happened against San Simon on Tuesday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Gregory School was outmatched by San Simon and fell 48-20. The Hawks were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 34-9.

Despite the loss, The Gregory School saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Zena Smith posted nine points and eight steals. That was a full 45% of The Gregory School's points, marking the fourth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.

Meanwhile, Hayden was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their fifth straight defeat. They were beaten by Fort Thomas 57-20. While losing is never fun, the Lobos can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 208th, while the Apaches are ranked 56th).

The Gregory School's loss was their first in the region, dropping their region record down to 3-1 and their overall record down to 6-6. As for Hayden, their defeat ended a six-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 5-5.

The Gregory School strolled past Hayden when the teams last played back in November of 2023 by a score of 45-28. The rematch might be a little tougher for The Gregory School since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.